Slices of Life
by dettiot
Summary: A collection of Chuck/Sarah ficlets, based off prompts received at my Tumblr.
1. Zoo

**Slices ****of ****Life**

**Author**: dettiot

**Rating**: T

**Summary**: A collection of Chuck/Sarah ficlets, based off prompts received at my Tumblr.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Chuck_. No copyright infringement is intended.

XXX

**Zoo**

Set late season 3.

Written for principia_coh.

"Sarah's never been to the zoo before."

XXX

"Tell me again why we're here?" Sarah asked, wrinkling her nose as the pungent odor of animal waste wafted towards them.

"Because you have never been to a zoo before, and because this is a much better place to see endangered and majestic tigers," Chuck said, swinging their joined hands.

"They'd be a lot more majestic out of captivity," Sarah grumbled, knowing she sounded grumpy but unable to help it, not when that mission with the Turners still left a bitter, unhappy taste in her mouth. Because what if she and Chuck turned out like them?

Chuck looked down at her, then let go of her hand to wrap his arm around her shoulders and pull her in against him. "Think back to when you were little. What would that Sarah have thought of the tigers?"

She'd never been Sarah as a girl. That was a name her father had never picked for any of their cons. But if the child version of the woman she was now could be here at this zoo today …

Looking up at Chuck, she couldn't help smiling at him. "I'd think they were majestic."

Chuck's smile, big and bright and happy, told her she had said the right thing. So even though the manure smell never faded, Sarah found that the zoo was a lot of fun.


	2. Breakfast

**Slices ****of ****Life**

**Author**: dettiot

**Rating**: T

**Summary**: A collection of ficlets, based off prompts received at my Tumblr.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Chuck_. No copyright infringement is intended.

XXX

**Breakfast**

Set late season 3.

Written for thegranddewru.

"Breakfast on any given day."

XXX

This morning is the busy start to an even busier day: work at the Buy More for him and the Orange Orange for Sarah, a briefing planned during their "lunch hour" in prep for a mission tonight. Chuck's feeling a bit tired, but he can't help smiling when he remembers just why he's tired.

He has the coffee perking by the time Sarah's up and moving, her heavy footsteps a stark contrast to her normal grace. When she finally pads into the kitchen, dressed in her uniform but with damp hair and a face free of makeup, he's just finished flipping the pancakes as the bacon drains on a paper towel.

"If I knew I'd get breakfasts like this, I'd have moved in sooner," Sarah says, giving him a shy yet cheeky smile. "And I would have gone for round three last night."

He's pretty sure his ears have never been as red as they feel right now. But he wants to show her that two can play at that game. "You said that the briefing is at 12:30, right?"

She nods as she pours herself some coffee. "Right."

"Then I'll take a rain check for round three at noon, in the supply closet." He nearly holds his breath, wondering if he's going too far by bringing up their heat-of-the-moment interlude from the other night in Castle's supply closet.

Sarah's blush, even as her eyes dance, tells him he's gone just far enough. "Deal. Now let's eat. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day."

"I'd say lunch is," he replies with a grin as he hands her a plate full of food while kissing her cheek.


	3. Dentist

**Slices ****of ****Life**

**Author**: dettiot

**Rating**: T

**Summary**: A collection of ficlets, based off prompts received at my Tumblr.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Chuck_. No copyright infringement is intended.

XXX

**Dentist**

Set late season 3/early season 4.

Written for anonymous.

"Chuck really, REALLY dislikes going to the dentist.."

XXX

After two weeks of watching Chuck turn down anything to eat that was the least bit crunchy or sticky, she has to ask him what's going on. It takes some persuading, but he finally spills the beans.

"I've got a tooth ache."

She frowns. "You do? It's hurting that bad?"

Chuck nods. "Yeah. But—but I'm sure it'll get better soon." Arching an eyebrow, Sarah looks at him skeptically but doesn't say anything, and he cracks. "Well, no, probably not, but …"

"But what?" she asks, moving closer to him and stroking his hair.

He looks at her, his eyes big and brown, then speaks hesitantly. "I really dislike going to the dentist."

"I don't know if anyone likes going to the dentist," she says, trying to sound equal parts supportive yet encouraging. "But the tooth ache really won't go away on its own."

Chuck sighs. "After my dad left, money was really tight," he explains. "When I was seventeen, my wisdom teeth started coming in and I was in agony—from that and from the four cavities I didn't know I had. Ellie was freaking out, so I managed to find the cheapest dentist possible to take care of it." He gives her a small, weak smile. "I got what I paid for."

The thought of a teenage Chuck, in pain and worrying over the money, suffering at the hands of some quack made her insides clench. She wanted to find that dentist and make him hurt just as much as Chuck must have hurt. Because if he was willing to suffer pain in order to avoid the fear of a dentist appointment, the guy must have done a number on him.

But getting revenge wouldn't help Chuck now. She racked her brain for a moment, then smiled a little as an idea presented itself to her.

"As CIA agents, we have dental insurance. I'll help you find the best dentist in Southern California, and then I'll go with you to the appointment. Hold your hand, give you something to focus on."

"You will?" he asked, his eyes widening. "I mean, you wouldn't say it if you wouldn't do it, but are you sure? This isn't going to be pretty."

Sarah leaned in and kissed his cheek. "I'm sure."

He wrapped his arms around her tightly. "Thank you!"

And yet again, that image of a teenage Chuck popped into her head, all arms and legs and eyes, and she couldn't help wishing she could have seen him then. If only to tell him that someday, he'd have someone to hold his hand when he went to the dentist.


	4. Birthday

**Slices ****of ****Life**

**Author**: dettiot

**Rating**: T

**Summary**: A collection of ficlets, based off prompts received at my Tumblr.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Chuck_. No copyright infringement is intended.

XXX

**Birthday**

Set early season 5.

Written for purpleaffair.

"Celebrating Sarah's birthday"

XXX

If he had known he'd finally find out Sarah's birthday when they got married, he'd have tried to get married sooner.

Chuck smiled as he put the finishing touches on the dinner table. Sarah knew that he knew when her birthday was, but he suspected that she was still a little nervous about what he might do. She'd seemed on edge the whole day, like she was expecting him to do some big, crazy celebration.

But that wasn't what Sarah would want. And Chuck, who understood having mixed feelings about your birthday, didn't want to make her regret sharing the date of her birth with him. But he wasn't about to let the day go unnoticed.

Thankfully, today's job had been best suited to Sarah's skill set. So while she went undercover as a personal shopper to the loose-lipped wife of a terrorist, he'd had the time to put together this special dinner. Gardenias and candles on the table, steaks that he'd watched like a hawk in order to cook perfectly, and a rich chocolate cake in the fridge: it was the least he could do to honor his wife's birthday. Not to mention the very special present that he'd spent days deliberating over.

The sound of the door opening drew his attention and he turned to greet Sarah. He picked up the glasses of wine he had poured and walked over to her.

"What's all this?" Sarah asked, sliding her coat off and smiling at him before taking her glass.

"This is your birthday dinner," he said, leaning in to kiss her softly. "Happy birthday, baby."

"Birthday?" she asked, interrupting the kiss. "It—it's not my birthday, Chuck."

He pulled away and stared at her. "What?! But—on our marriage license, you put this date at your birthday!"

Sarah nibbled on her lower lip, the nervous tell warning him. "I did … but it's not really my birthday." She held up her hand, cutting off his response. "When I've had to use a date of birth for anything official, I've used this one, ever since I got recruited." She gazed up at him, looking worried and nervous.

He gazed back, wondering if he'd ever really know the woman he married. It must have shown on his face, because she spoke softly. "March 3. That's my birthday. I swear. I'm sorry, Chuck—I wrote down November 15 without even thinking, because I'm so used to using it, and when I remembered I was worried about what you'd think so I didn't tell you." She stepped closer to him, taking his hand and holding it tightly. "Can you forgive me?"

When she put it like that … of course he could forgive her. He let go of her hand and slid his arm around her waist. "It's okay, Sarah. I mean, I wish you had told me sooner, but I understand."

She held on to him, still looking up at him. "I wish I had told you. So I wouldn't have ruined your surprise."

Chuck kissed her cheek. "Who says it's ruined? You'll just spend your unbirthday being pampered by your husband now."

"Unbirthday?" she said, cuddling into him and leaning up to brush her nose against his.

"From—From _Alice __in __Wonderland_," he said, swallowing hard.

She nuzzled him, then brushed a soft kiss over his lips. "You're sweet."

If there was a man alive who could act cool after Sarah Walker called him sweet, Chuck would like to meet that man so he could buy him a beer. He cleared his throat. "Well, unbirthdays are important, too."

Sarah gazed up at him through her eyelashes. "Today's your unbirthday, too, right?"

He nodded, biting back a moan as Sarah kissed his neck. "Can dinner keep? I think I have a present for you," she said sultrily.

Actually, the steaks wouldn't be nearly as good reheated. But as he set down his wine glass so he could bury his hands in her hair as he kissed her, Chuck didn't really care about the food.


	5. Tree

**Slices ****of ****Life**

**Author**: dettiot

**Rating**: T

**Summary**: A collection of ficlets, based off prompts received at my Tumblr.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Chuck_. No copyright infringement is intended.

XXX

**Tree**

Set early season 4.

Written for mysongstory.

"a visit to the #RockefellerCenterChristmasTr ee and seeing the Salvation Army kettles in front"

XXX

"C'mon, Sarah, we gotta hurry if we're gonna get to see the tree up close!"

Sarah laughed softly. Chuck's enthusiasm was contagious, even though she had to put a pin in his balloon. "Chuck, you're six foot four. No matter where you stand, you're going to be able to see the tree."

He grinned and grabbed her hand. "But I wanna see all the details and the ornaments and everything."

"I don't think the Rockefeller Center tree has ornaments, Chuck," Sarah said, letting Chuck pull her into the scrum of people waiting to see the tree lit this chilly late-December evening.

He just grinned back at her and returned to plowing his way through the people—for a man without a lot of heft, he could certainly clear the road, she thought with a smile.

When he'd found them a spot that was close enough, Chuck drew Sarah in front of him and wrapped his arms around her. "Body heat. Very important in the cold," he said, pressing his chest against her back.

"Mmm," she said, rubbing his arms. She looked around the crowd, taking in the people laughing and smiling, the children bouncing in excitement as they waited for the tree to be lit up as the twilight deepened. Suddenly, through the din, she heard the high-pitched tinkle of a bell.

Swiveling her head around, she saw off to their right a Salvation Army bell-ringer, standing next to his kettle.

Sarah bit her lip, remembering all the years when Christmas was about lifting as many kettles as they could find. Her father had always excused their actions by pointing out that the Salvation Army was a charity that discriminated against non-Christians and gays, "And what kind of charity discriminates?" he'd ask. But Sarah knew he could care less about that. And for a little girl brought up to see Christmas like any other day, it hadn't mattered back then.

Chuck poked her in the shoulder. "Look, look, it's starting!"

She managed to smile up at him, thankful that she had Chuck to show her what the holiday season was about. He had warned her that she would be heart-warmed, the first time he invited her to share Christmas with him. He didn't realize how right he was. And that it was all because of him.

The tree-lighting was magical, she had to admit—if only to see how Chuck's face had lit up like the tree, enjoying every bit of it. As the crowd dispersed, she took Chuck's hand and subtly lead him past the bell-ringer. And when she walked past the bell-ringer, using her years of experience as a con artist and a spy, she dropped fifty dollars in the kettle.


	6. Comics

**Slices of Life**

**Author**: dettiot

**Rating**: T

**Summary**: A collection of ficlets, based off prompts received at my Tumblr.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Chuck_. No copyright infringement is intended.

XXX

**Comics**

Set mid-season 3.

Written for victorianoir.

"Chuck walks in on Sarah secretly reading his comic books."

XXX

"What what WHAT?!"

Morgan nearly dropped his controller at the sound of Chuck's voice coming from the bedroom he now shared with Sarah. The leggy blonde Valkyrie of a girlfriend, the one that Chuck had been in love with for years before they were officially a couple (and wow, his best friend really was the most awesome man ever, being all secret super spy _and_ getting a hot woman like Sarah to make their fake relationship real) had decamped to the bedroom so Chuck and Morgan could have their normal video game night. But even though they hadn't had video game night for weeks, Chuck hadn't been able to resist "going back to check on Sarah" halfway through their Halo raid.

"What? What did I do?" Morgan heard Sarah ask, her voice confused.

"That—that—that was mint in the bag!"

Oh, hell no!

Morgan tossed aside the controller and ran down the hallway, skidding to a stop in the doorway. He peered around Chuck as best he could—the boy had seriously put on the muscle recently—and saw Sarah—

"_DC Comics Presents_ #26. The introduction of the new Teen Titans. Possibly—no, definitely—Chuck's favorite group of superheroes ever. The comic book that he spent three summers saving his money in order to buy … and you're reading it?!" Morgan asked, his voice growing increasingly shrill as he spoke.

Sarah looked back and forth between the two of them. "I … I thought you bought comic books to read them. And I knew you liked the Teen Titans," she said, turning to look at Chuck. "So I thought I'd read it and see if I could figure out why you liked them."

Morgan looked at his best friend. The man was caught between a rock (his very expensive comic now being practically worthless) and a hard place (his hot girlfriend who was looking like she had pushed Peaches I in front of the car that had killed her).

"Sarah … yes, you're right, I buy comics to read them. I don't get all hung up on the collector value now. But—but that book? That one is special."

"Oh," she said, her voice sounding small. If Morgan didn't know better, he'd say that Sarah looked like she might cry—something he didn't think was possible.

Clearly, this was a conversation that Chuck and Sarah needed to have in private.

"Chuck, buddy, I'm going to go get those pizzas," Morgan said, patting his friend on the shoulder. "You and Sarah talk."

"You sure, Morgan?" Chuck asked, glancing over his shoulder at him.

"No, no, I don't want to interfere with video game night," Sarah said, attempting to put the comic book back in its bag, only to succeed in bending back one of the corners. Chuck instinctively winced and Sarah's shoulders slumped.

He had to give the girl credit: she was trying, even though the nerd was not strong with her. He gave Sarah an encouraging smile. "It's cool, Sarah. You two hash this out, and then we can have pizza together before resuming video game night. It'll be great."

Sarah gave him a small, somewhat wavery smile. "Thanks, Morgan."

"Yeah, thanks, buddy," Chuck said before walking over to sit down next to Sarah. As he slid his arm around her shoulders, Morgan turned and made tracks.

"Man," he said quietly to himself as he got his jacket and the key to his bike lock, "Chuck's got his work cut out for him with her."


	7. Singing

**Slices ****of ****Life**

**Author**: dettiot

**Rating**: T

**Summary**: A collection of ficlets, based off prompts received at my Tumblr.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Chuck_. No copyright infringement is intended.

XXX

**Singing**

Set post-finale

Written for anonymous.

"Chuck and Sarah walk in on Casey doing something they never expected him to do... he's singing along to Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen."

XXX

It was nice to have Casey back, Sarah thought as she followed Chuck into what was once Castle and was now the home of Carmichael Industries. As her memories slowly returned, Chuck had been increasing the number of cases they took on. Their latest job had required some extra muscle, so Chuck had called Casey and asked him to give them a hand.

She hadn't seen Casey since he had left, right after she had lost her memories, and things were still a bit tense between them. She knew that Casey didn't trust her. The feeling was somewhat mutual: Sarah found herself trusting Casey without understanding why, which made her doubt herself. But those moments were happening less often now as she relaxed around Casey.

Casey nodded to them from his place at the conference table. He was in the middle of cleaning several weapons, she saw: there was a dissembled HK MK23 spread out in front of him, as well as two more pistols waiting for their turn. "Bartowski. Walker."

"Hi, Casey," she said, taking a seat at one of the computers.

"Just like old times!" Chuck said, his voice full of cheer. "Casey cleaning weapons, us working together. Are you sure you wanna go join back up with Gertrude, Casey?"

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Casey glance at her, then he grunted. "Hell, yeah."

Chuck sighed, then shrugged. "Had to ask, buddy," he said, slapping Casey's shoulder as he went to his computer.

"Watch you two lovebirds fumble around to bein' a couple? Watchin' that once was bad enough."

Sarah felt her cheeks flush. It was true that she and Chuck were growing closer together, but there was still a lot of work for them to do.

A silence fell over the room, punctuated only by the clack of keys and soft clinks as Casey reassembled his weapon. Slowly, though, Sarah became aware of a low melodic humming. Glancing up, she saw that it was coming from Casey. She tilted her head as she tried to figure out what he was humming.

Chuck had also stopped working—in fact, he was practically gaping at Casey, his mouth hanging open. Sarah didn't really understand what was going on, until Chuck managed to recover himself.

"Casey?"

He let out his "yes?" grunt in-between his humming.

A grin spread across Chuck's face. "Are you humming Call Me Maybe?"

"Is that what that is?" Sarah asked as Casey looked up, his jaw clenching. "That incredibly catchy song?"

Chuck nodded, his smile widening. "That's the one. The song all about a girl asking a guy to call her."

Casey looked back and forth between the two of them, looking like a terrorist pinned against a wall by a Bowie knife. Sarah couldn't help smiling, too. The thought of Casey singing a teen pop song was pretty hilarious.

The older man grunted. "Like you said, it's catchy. Can't go anywhere without hearing the damn thing."

Chuck smirked and started singing. "Hey, I just met you—"

Casey cocked his now-reassembled HK. "And this is loaded."

"Shutting up," Chuck said with a grin, turning back to his computer.


	8. Bonfire

**Slices ****of ****Life**

**Author**: dettiot

**Rating**: T

**Summary**: A collection of ficlets, based off prompts received at my Tumblr.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Chuck_. No copyright infringement is intended.

XXX

**Bonfire**

Set post-finale

Written for anonymous.

"Chuck tries to take Sarah for a romantic night cap on their beach in Malibu but is failing miserably at lighting the bonfire."

XXX

Sarah watched Chuck as she pulled her knees in against her chest, wrapping her arms around them. She smiled softly as he tried to get the damp wood to burn.

A year ago today, they had sat on this beach and Chuck had asked her to trust him. It had been both the hardest and the easiest thing she had ever done. Hard because she was so used to following her head, and it was telling her that trusting him was foolish and dangerous. Easy because if she listened to her heart, she knew that she already trusted him.

They had gone out to dinner earlier tonight, celebrating the memories that had returned to her while making some new ones. When Chuck had stayed on the highway on the drive home, she guessed that they might end up here. And now he was trying to make a bonfire—trying so hard to give her a happy moment here.

"Chuck," she said softly. "C'mere."

"I've almost got it," he said, leaning in and blowing on the tiny flame he had achieved. "Almost, almost …" He groaned when the spark flickered out again. Sitting back on his heels, he looked so defeated that Sarah uncoiled herself and crawled over to him.

"It's okay, Chuck," she said, cuddling in against his side. "You can't start a fire with wet wood."

"I know that," he said, sighing. "I mean, I was in the Boy Scouts. I went camping."

She looked up at him. "Did you like that? Being a Boy Scout, I mean."

"Kinda?" he said, wrapping an arm around her. "Morgan wanted to do it, so I joined, too. I liked doing the merit badges—learning something new and getting recognition for what I had learned."

That answer didn't surprise her. She smiled a little and leaned into him, turning to look out at the ocean as the waves rolled in.

She knew that he had wanted a big, romantic moment. Something that would demonstrate how far they had come. But they didn't need big gestures. After all, look at how they were sitting right now. The other times on this beach, they'd never been so close as they were right now.

Maybe he realized that, because she could feel him relax against her. He lightly brushed a kiss over the top of her head. "Okay, baby?"

She nodded. "Yeah. This is nice."

"You're not too cold?"

Sarah smiled up at him. "No. I've got you to keep me warm."

The slow, soft smile that spread across his face was beautiful. Seeing his heart in his eyes, she felt a surge of love and happiness and hope. And the only way she could deal with that surge was to lean in and kiss him.

His hand came up to brush along her jaw, not so different from that day a year ago. But this kiss was different from last year. That time, it was about showing him that she trusted him. But now, she was showing him that she loved him.

And the best thing was, he knew it.


	9. Disney

**Slices ****of ****Life**

**Author**: dettiot

**Rating**: T

**Summary**: A collection of ficlets, based off prompts received at my Tumblr.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Chuck_. No copyright infringement is intended.

XXX

**Disney**

Set mid-season 1

Written for alicehermione.

"Chuck finds out that Sarah didn't watch Disney movies as a kid."

XXX

It all started when Chuck was trying to convince Sarah to join him at Disneyland for a day.

"I grew up going there and I think you'd like California Adventure, and, and! They're ending the Main Street Electrical Parade next April and sending it to Florida, and who knows when it could come back?"

He was coming close to begging her. And it wasn't very dignified, he knew. But Ellie was listening and after all, their cover was as boyfriend and girlfriend, and this was the kind of thing he'd done with girlfriends before. Well, girlfriend. Well, girl he dated. Megan Mahoney, his prom date, had gone with him to Disneyland and had then proceeded to dump him two days later. Jill preferred Knott's Berry Farm, so they had always gone there.

Sarah was opening her mouth to refuse—he could just tell—until he cut his eyes over to Ellie and then back to Sarah. His CIA handler and fake girlfriend got the message.

"I've never gone to Disneyland … it sounds like fun," she said, her voice a little forced. "With … with Bugs Bunny and all that."

Chuck gaped at her. "Bugs Bunny? No, no, we're going to Disneyland."

"Bugs Bunny isn't at Disneyland?" Sarah asked.

"Um, no." He rubbed a hand through his hair. "Disneyland, you know. With Mickey Mouse and the Disney Princesses and all that."

"Oh," she said.

"Chuck, ease up on Sarah," Ellie interjected. "Not everyone is a Disney nerd like you are."

"I'm not a Disney nerd," he protested. "I just like the movies. And the park."

"Uh-huh," Ellie said with a grin.

Chuck rolled his eyes at her and turned back to Sarah. "Didn't you grow up wanting to go to Disneyland? Imagine yourself in one of the movies? I always wanted to be in _Aladdin_ with the Genie and the flying carpet."

Sarah nibbled on her lower lip. He might not know much about Sarah Walker, but he did know that when she did that, she was nervous about something. When she spoke, her voice was hesitant. "Actually … I never saw _Aladdin_. Or—or any of the Disney cartoons."

It was all he could do not to let his mouth fall open. "What?! How could you have never seen a Disney movie?" As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he realized that a, he was being really pushy and b, she'd probably clam up tighter than a guard at Fort Knox.

"Lots of people don't let their kids see the movies, Chuck," Ellie pointed out. "The other day I had a patient, this cute little six-year-old, whose parents didn't want her to get brainwashed by the whole Disney Princesses thing."

"That was how my parents felt," Sarah said quickly. "They didn't want to bring up a princess."

Chuck eyed Sarah as she fell into conversation with Ellie. He didn't really think that was the case, but what could he do? It wasn't like he could force her to tell him. Trying to make Sarah Walker talk when she didn't want to was a process that was bound to end badly for him.

Ellie looked down at her watch and sighed. "As fun as this has been, I have to get to the hospital." She quickly hugged Sarah and kissed Chuck on the cheek before gathering her things and walking out of the apartment, leaving the two of them alone.

Once Ellie was gone, Sarah drew back from Chuck. "We should probably go over that intel, see if you flash on anything."

Chuck sighed and rubbed his temples. He'd already done some flashing earlier and he wasn't looking forward to the headache that was already developing. Sarah must have seen him wincing, because she paused and put down the file folders she had pulled out of her bag. "It can wait."

"Are you sure?" he asked her.

Sarah nodded and smiled at him a little. "We can do something else until you're ready."

He smiled back, his mind immediately presenting an option to him. Well, two options, but he doubted he could ever convince Sarah to kiss him for real. "Maybe … maybe we could watch a movie?"

Sarah's eyebrow quirked. "A movie."

Chuck nodded. "Yeah. Expose you to a whole new world." He couldn't help grinning at his choice of words, even though Sarah wouldn't catch the reference.

"Let me guess: a Disney movie?"

"And people think I'm the genius," he said, playfully nudging her.

To his relief, Sarah laughed as she shook her head. "Okay, okay. We can watch one of these movies, if only so I can see what the big deal is."

Chuck smiled widely. "You won't be disappointed. Take a seat while I pick out the best movie to introduce you to the Disney experience."

With a small smile, Sarah nodded and sat down while Chuck looked through his collection. This was harder than he thought and he spent a good two minutes debating different options. Then, as he sensed Sarah getting antsy, he decided to go with his instincts and picked _Aladdin_. Popping it into the DVD player, he sat down next to her and smiled. "I hope you like this one."

Sarah gazed at him for a moment, then smiled back. "I hope I do, too."

As nice as it would be to hold her hand or drape his arm around her shoulders, there was no need for it since they were alone. But Chuck noticed that as the movie progressed, Sarah definitely relaxed enough to let her side touch his. And that made him very grateful that he had memorized _Aladdin_ so he didn't really have to watch it. Because all his brainpower was going into memorizing the feel of Sarah Walker's side pressing lightly against his.


	10. Yes

**Slices ****of ****Life**

**Author**: dettiot

**Rating**: T

**Summary**: A collection of ficlets, based off prompts received at my Tumblr.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Chuck_. No copyright infringement is intended.

XXX

**Yes**

Set during _Chuck vs. the Other Guy_

Written for principia_coh.

"There's no mission to interrupt Chuck and Sarah sharing their feelings in _Chuck vs. the Other Guy_."

XXX

"What? Uh … what?"

He must still be drunk, even though he was pretty sure he was more than half-way to sober. Because Sarah was gazing at him and if he didn't know better he'd say her heart was in her eyes and she was saying "Yes" …

"Chuck, I fell for you a long _long_ time ago: after you fixed my phone and before you started diffusing bombs with computers viruses. So, yes." She let out a small, nervous, shy chuckle, then she looked at him, her face soft and hopeful. "Yes."

He blinked. She—she was saying yes—and it wasn't in answer to his question about making a fool of himself, it was about the other question, so that meant she—

Sarah, the amazing smart beautiful perfect woman that she was, must have realized he was having problems figuring this out, because she leaned over and kissed him softly. Her fingers stroked his jaw and he felt bad about the whiskey taste she must be experiencing but it didn't seem to stop her from kissing him. And it didn't stop him from kissing her back. At least, not until reality invaded his brain.

"What about my red test?" he asked, pulling back from her.

She shook her head. "Casey told me. He told me that he killed the mole, and that you couldn't do it. And it was the best news that I ever heard, because it means you haven't changed. You're still Chuck … You're still _my_ Chuck."

It wasn't often that Sarah Walker opened herself up to anyone. And when she did, she knew how to do it in just a few words. The idea that he was hers … it made a huge smile blossom on his face. And she smiled back at him and everything was _wonderful_.

He fumbled to get the plastic guitar out of his way, then he reached out for her, pulling her in close to him. He pressed kisses along her jaw line, nuzzling her oh-so-soft skin. "Sarah …" he whispered, loving the sound of her name, even if it wasn't the name on her birth certificate. But knowing her real name (which he couldn't believe was actually Sam) didn't matter so much anymore. Just as long as they were real. And now they were.

A really, really nice shiver went through her when he lightly kissed her neck, so he did it again. Her hands fisted in his shirt as she pulled him in for a long, slow, soft kiss. He couldn't help letting out a little moan as she kissed him, making him hers even more than he already was.

"S-so … so do I have to do anything special to convince you to go to Mexico with me?" he asked, not wanting to give up on his fantasy of the two of them on vacation together. He wanted to be with her, wanted it to be just about the two of them with no lies, no secrets, no spies.

Sarah looked at him, her eyes a shade of blue he'd never seen before. That small crease in her forehead appeared, the one she got whenever she was thinking hard about something she wanted but felt she shouldn't do. Then her face cleared and she shook her head. "Only if you don't want to go right now."

"Really?" he said, beaming at her. "You want to go now?"

She nodded. "Yes. We … we deserve some time for ourselves."

The fact that they were a we now and that she was willing to admit that she deserved something, that she was someone who wanted things beyond the best weapons and all the CIA provided, made him feel like dancing for joy.

"Gimme—gimme one minute," he said, untangling himself from her. "My bag's still packed from the other night, I just gotta put some clothes on." He paused in the untangling long enough to kiss her, then looked at her for a long moment. "I know it's hard for you to open up, but I want you to know, I will do everything I can to make you feel safe. So that you don't ever think it was a mistake to trust me with yourself."

Over these last two and a half years, he'd gotten to be pretty good at reading Sarah Walker. So he knew that his words had touched something within her, from the way her eyes widened, from the pinkness that rushed into her cheeks, and from how she was holding her breath. He kissed her one more time, then scrambled to his feet and hurried back to his bedroom.

XXX

Sarah felt herself make an uncharacteristic sniff. She wasn't a weepy woman, prone to crying at the drop of a hat. Yet something about Chuck's sweet sincerity made her want to sob. That he thought he had to start doing something _now_ to get her to trust him …

From the very beginning, she had trusted him. That was what made Chuck Bartowski dangerous to her. She found herself telling him things that she hadn't planned to say, revealing details that almost no one knew. The trust and support he gave her, learning how and when to push for more yet never demanding answers—he was special. He had become worthy of her trust a long time ago. Worthy of her trust and her love.

She'd known from early on that he cared about her. That he had feelings for her. And from the surveillance footage that Carina had slipped her, she knew that he thought he loved her. But it wasn't until he said the words to her face, on that night when she felt heartsick and lost and certain she had to leave because she couldn't bear seeing him and not being with him, that she realized why it hurt so much. She loved him, too. So going away with Shaw, their sham of a relationship, it suddenly wasn't possible anymore. She couldn't leave Chuck—she wouldn't leave him.

Rubbing her eyes, she tried to push the tears out of her voice as she pulled out her phone. She had to tell Shaw that Chuck and she would be out of touch for the next few days. The usual procedure would be a phone call. But most agents had fallen into the texting habit and Shaw had never complained about getting a text before. So instead of calling him and risking getting bad news like a mission, she sent him a text.

Chuck hurried out of his bedroom, carrying a suitcase, his big happy smile still on his face. "Do we need to go by your place?"

Sarah shook her head. "No … I've got a bag in the trunk of my car. One I keep packed for spontaneous trips."

He grinned at her. "That bag's in case something happens and you need a change of clothes after a mission. It's not exactly a weekend getaway kind of bag."

"That's what you think," she teased, smiling at him. "There are some things you don't know about me, Chuck."

"A lot of things, actually," he said, taking her hand and squeezing it gently. "Things that I'd like to know, but only when you're ready."

She found herself rubbing her thumb against his hand as she gazed at him. "I … I might be ready soon," she said, knowing that she sounded vulnerable. But she wasn't scared. Well, actually, she was—they were taking such a big risk, because what if this didn't work out? What if the CIA retaliated against them for this relationship? She'd always planned and thought ahead, and now here she was, leaping before she looked.

But when Chuck leaned down and kissed her softly, she closed her eyes and let herself fall. She'd spent too long holding Chuck at arm's length. For once, she was going to let herself want something that didn't have anything to do with national security. Because right now, any other choice was unbearable.

She'd take what she could have with Chuck, even if it didn't last for very long. A few days with him would be worth whatever heartbreak might come.

"Ready to go?" he asked, nuzzling her softly and making her knees feel weak.

How on Earth could they get all the way to Mexico without tearing each other's clothes off? Sarah made a mental note to suggest stopping in San Diego for the night.

She gave him a small smile. "Ready."

And by his answering smile, she knew that he was ready, too.


	11. Dance

**Slices ****of ****Life**

**Author**: dettiot

**Rating**: T

**Summary**: A collection of ficlets, based off prompts received at my Tumblr.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Chuck_. No copyright infringement is intended.

XXX

**Dance**

Set early season 4

Written for ordinaryfootsteps.

"I'd like to see a ficlet in which Chuck and Sarah (while dating) meet Jill or Cole."

XXX

Sarah looked around the ballroom as she sipped her champagne. The private Christmas party at the home of a suspected terrorist was lavish, with large arrangements of white roses and poinsettias, pine trees with twinkling lights, and lots of red and green. If she hadn't been here for work, she might enjoy the party.

Especially, she thought as she caught a glimpse of Chuck, because she was here with her boyfriend.

Even after a year together, she still felt a bit giddy and girly when she thought of Chuck as her boyfriend. It was so … normal. And given that she knew she wasn't a normal woman, it was nice to discover that she wasn't that different from other females when it came to thinking about her significant other.

"Heading to the study," Chuck said quietly over their communication channel.

Sarah tucked her hair behind an ear, speaking softly into the delicate bracelet that concealed her mike. "Understood."

According to their plan, Chuck was going to sneak into the target's study, using some computer gadgets to set up a trace that would feed data to the CIA from the terrorist's computers. Meanwhile, she'd keep an eye out for the target in the ballroom, making sure he didn't approach the study.

She walked around the ballroom, doing her best to act the part of a bored socialite. The room was filling up to the point of being crowded. When she bumped into a broad-shouldered man, Sarah began apologizing in French.

"Excusez-moi, monsieur—"

The man turned around and the words died on her lips.

"De rien, mademoiselle," Cole Barker said smoothly. He leaned in towards her, switching to English. "Fancy meeting you here."

She gave him a flirtatious smile, not wanting to attract attention. But her voice was far from flirty. "Hello."

"Is that any way to greet an old friend?" Cole asked as he brushed a kiss across each of her cheeks.

So in the two years since she had last seen him, Cole Barker, MI-6 operative, hadn't changed a bit. She didn't know whether that was interesting or just expected. She angled her face away from his lips slightly. "No, but then, we're not friends, are we?"

Looking up at Cole, she realized her initial assessment wasn't quite correct. He had changed—there were a few more crinkles at the corners of his eyes and even a hint of gray in his hair. Cole Barker looked tired, a man sliding into middle age without anything to ground him, without anything beyond being a spy.

"I'm hurt," Cole said, laying a hand over his heart. "I thought we left things as friends."

"Then maybe you could drop the James Bond routine and act like a normal person?" she asked, raising her eyebrows as she sipped her champagne.

Cole scoffed. "Where's the fun in that? The excitement, the intrigue?"

Once upon a time, she might have agreed with him. Certainly her relationship with Bryce had been propped up by the danger of their jobs. But now … she knew that a good relationship didn't need constant change to stay fresh and new.

"Nearly done up here. Sarah, anything to watch out for?" Chuck's voice drew her attention. Cole must have seen the flicker in her eyes as she listened to Chuck, and he grinned.

"Work before play, I see?"

"You're clear," she said quickly into her bracelet, then looked back at Cole. "Yes. As soon as my partner is finished, we'll enjoy a bit more of the party before leaving."

Cole nodded, not asking any questions about her assignment, following the unspoken protocol of acquainted agents who encountered each other in the field. "Say, whatever happened to that fellow you worked with back then? Chuck? I always wondered how he made out, because he didn't really seem suited for this life."

Sarah took another sip of champagne as she pondered how to reply to Cole. Should she give him some idea that Chuck would be joining her in a moment, or hold back and see just how surprised Cole was?

That was a silly question, she thought with a smirk. "I suppose he's adjusted. That's what I've heard."

"So you're not working with him anymore?" Cole sounded surprised. "I didn't know you'd moved on." He waggled his eyebrows. "Perhaps I'll finally get my chance."

Sarah looked at him. Still cocky and arrogant. But while two years ago she had been charmed but distrustful, now she thought he was just a bit sad and lonely.

So it wasn't hard to be kind to him and attempt to let him down easily. "I'm sorry, I'm with someone. It's serious." Glancing up towards the staircase, she saw Chuck slowly descending, his eyes locking on her.

"Oh?" Cole asked. "I wouldn't have thought that of you."

"It's like I told you," she said, feeling the change in the air as Chuck approached her. "When you meet someone you care about, it's hard to walk away." She turned as Chuck joined them and took his arm, giving him a smile. "Hi. You remember—"

Chuck smiled at Cole. "Good to see you again," he said, holding his hand out for a handshake.

Cole blinked, looking thunderstruck. She could understand surprise, since dressed in a well-tailored suit and with shorter hair, Chuck certainly fit the image of a spy now. But it seemed like Cole really didn't believe what he was seeing. It took him a moment to reach out and shake Chuck's hand.

"And here I thought I'd seen it all," Cole said slowly.

Ignoring the implied slight, Chuck smiled at Cole. "Well, Einstein said that imagination was more important than knowledge. But I'm sure it's a surprise to see us here together."

"You could say that," Cole said. He looked back and forth between the two of them, then huffed out a laugh. "Yet again, I come in second place." He gave Chuck a small salute. "Congratulations. Have a good rest of your evening."

And with that, Cole Barker turned and melted into the crowd.

Chuck looked at Sarah curiously. "What did he mean about 'second place'?"

"Oh, just a conversation we had a few years ago," Sarah said, reaching out and brushing lightly at the shoulder of his tux. "I'll explain it later. Everything set?"

Chuck nodded. "We're good to go. In multiple senses of the phrase."

Sarah laughed softly. "Not before we have a dance. After all, with our practicing, I want to see how you make out without any help."

When Chuck had mentioned wanting to learn how to dance, instead of relying on the Intersect, she had jumped at the chance to teach him. Their lessons had gone much better than her attempts at teaching him martial arts—although both sets of lessons had been about the same length, but for vastly different reasons. Usually, their dance lessons ended with a make-out session in Castle's supply closet, instead of her injuring him.

"Oh, you wanna dance?" he said, grinning at her. "You better have your dancing shoes on, then."

Still smiling at her, he drew her out onto the dance floor just as _Have __Yourself __a __Merry __Little __Christmas_ began playing. Sarah went happily into his arms, enjoying the confidence she saw in Chuck as he lead her around the dance floor. They moved in sync, gliding and twirling in time with the music.

Sarah laid her head on Chuck's shoulders, her eyes half-closed as she savored being close to him. This was the perfect way to end a mission, she thought idly. So much better than running out under a hail of bullets, like she probably would have if she had gone off with Cole. It might be an unfair comparison, contrasting Chuck and Cole. But at this moment, she wouldn't trade anyone for Chuck.


	12. Marvel

**Slices ****of ****Life**

**Author**: dettiot

**Rating**: T

**Summary**: A collection of ficlets, based off prompts received at my Tumblr.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Chuck_. No copyright infringement is intended.

XXX

**Marvel**

Set late season 3

Written for anonymous.

"Sarah prefers Superman over everyone else (or alternatively, she prefers Marvel over DC/vice versa.."

XXX

Chuck looked at Sarah as they walked through the shopping center. "I wanted to stop in at my comic store … do you mind?"

This wasn't a request he was making lightly. It was one thing to ask Sarah to move into the apartment, with all the nerdy collectibles and the video games and, well, Morgan. But asking her to go to the comic store with him, exposing her to the full range of fanboy …

But Sarah was a CIA agent. And so was he, too! With all the things they had seen, a few hardcore nerds shouldn't be that intimidating. She'd be able to handle it, and he'd be there to help her.

She gave him an impish grin. "It depends. Can we go to the shoe store afterwards?"

One thing he had been surprised about when Sarah had moved in: she really loved shoes. So he had been half-expecting her to make just such an offer.

"Deal," he said, smiling at her as he swung their joined hands. "Let's go."

Sarah nodded and followed him down the sidewalk and into his local. He kept a firm hold on her hand as he greeted the owner. "Hey, Jake. How's it going?"

"Not bad, Chuck." Jake, an elderly man who would tell great stories about the early days of comics when he was in a good mood, nodded to him. "Who's your little lady?"

Chuck almost smirked at hearing Sarah called "a little lady." He squeezed Sarah's hand. "This is my girlfriend, Sarah."

"Nice to meet ya," Jake said, climbing off his stool. "Your box is pretty full, Chuck. You gonna take 'em all today?"

"Yeah, I will—and I'm gonna look around, too," Chuck said as Sarah wandered over towards the racks of new issues. He followed her and stood beside her. He lowered his voice. "Sorry about that—Jake's old-school."

Sarah's smile was sympathetic. "I understand." She looked at the rack, then pointed. "You like those characters, right?"

The book she was pointing to was a _Teen __Titans_ title. He smiled and kissed her cheek. "Yep, I do. I'm going to look around."

"Okay," Sarah said, smiling back at him.

Chuck wandered around the store, going to visit the gorgeous Black Canary statue that he wished he could buy. But it was pretty pricey, even with his CIA salary on top of his Buy More pay. Not that he could splash money around, since most people didn't know about the CIA agent thing.

He lost track of time a little, although he kept an eye out on Sarah. When he noticed that she had read an entire single issue, he had to go see what she was reading.

"Hey, baby," he said, walking up and resting his hand on her lower back. "Whatcha reading?"

Sarah turned the book to reveal a statuesque blonde, dressed in a skin-tight, high-necked black unitard. The words _Ms__. __Marvel_ were emblazoned across the cover. "I like this a lot," Sarah said, smiling a bit shyly.

"Ms. Marvel is pretty bad-ass," Chuck said. "But … she's a Marvel character."

A small wrinkle formed between Sarah's eyes. "What does that mean?"

"See, I'm a DC guy," Chuck said. "They've got great characters. Like Black Canary!" He looked around, then frowned. "Damn, that's right, _Birds __of __Prey_ just ended." He turned, heading towards the trade paperbacks and pulled out one, a collection of recent _Birds __of __Prey_ comics.

Sarah was looking at him, her expression both amused and slightly annoyed. He walked over and showed her the book. "See, she's got this Canary cry that can incapacitate anyone, and she's an amazing martial artist. Sound like anyone we know?" he asked her with a grin. "I bet you'd really like this."

"But I like this one," Sarah said, holding up the _Ms__. __Marvel_ issue. She lifted her chin. "What does it matter if I like Marvel comics and you like DC?"

"I … I guess it doesn't matter …" Chuck said slowly, realizing that as much as he thought Black Canary and the rest of the DC superheroes were the best, Sarah liked Ms. Marvel, who was plenty awesome.

And he had a hot, beautiful girlfriend who was showing an interest in comics. Acting like she could only like what he liked would be the worst kind of fanboy behavior. Looking at things from that perspective, Chuck had to shake his head and smile. "Sorry, Sarah. My twelve-year-old self overwhelmed me there for a minute."

She gave him a hesitant smile. "What does that mean?"

"I went through a phase for a little while, when I acted like some kind of jerk, thinking that what I liked was the best and anything else wasn't any good," Chuck explained. "I grew out of it, but … yeah."

She laughed softly. "I can't see you acting like that."

"Oh, trust me, it wasn't pretty. Ask Morgan about it sometime," he said, feeling relieved that she wasn't mad at him.

"This ain't a library!" Jake called out.

Chuck winced. "Sorry, Jake!" he responded, then turned back to Sarah. "You'll have to buy the issue you read—Jake's first rule is that if you read the issue, you buy it."

"That's okay," she said, nudging his shoulder.

"And what's more, let's go see if there's any trades of _Ms__. __Marvel_!" Chuck said, pulling her over towards the shelves filled with trade paperbacks.

"Trades?" Sarah asked curiously.

"It's a collection of single issues, like what you've got there," Chuck told her, scanning the shelves.

"Oh!" she said, sounding interested.

As Sarah joined him in looking through the shelves, Chuck couldn't believe his luck. His girlfriend was actually interested in comic books. Chuck at twelve wouldn't have believed it. And yeah, he personally thought Black Canary was a lot more interesting than Ms. Marvel, but that didn't matter. What mattered was that she was showing interest in something he liked. Like a real girlfriend would.

He resolved to pay more attention when they were at the shoe store and give Sarah honest answers if she asked his opinion. But that didn't stop him from imagining Sarah as Ms. Marvel for Halloween.

After all, Black Canary's fishnets were great, but Ms. Marvel's costume was really something, too.


	13. Music

**Slices ****of ****Life**

**Author**: dettiot

**Rating**: T

**Summary**: A collection of ficlets, based off prompts received at my Tumblr.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Chuck_. No copyright infringement is intended.

XXX

**Music**

Set early season 4

Written for anonymous.

"Chuck and Sarah listen to Arcade Fire's first album together for the first time."

XXX

After months of chasing after Alexei Volkoff with Casey, Sarah was more than ready for some time in Burbank. She hadn't realized just how much she would miss Chuck while she was gone. Before she had met him, the excitement of missions and travel and adventure would have probably pushed him from her mind. But not anymore. Although she wasn't quite ready to move in with him officially, she knew that he was her compass. Her true north. Her home.

So tonight, she wanted to make things special for him. Show him how much she had thought about him even during missions. Last night they had celebrated their nine-month anniversary (an anniversary she hadn't really remembered, because for her, the day they met was really their anniversary, which was another fact she wasn't ready to tell Chuck about yet). Chuck had made her dinner and given her a heavenly foot rub before they had moved back into his/their bedroom.

That had been … amazing, she thought, her cheeks flushing a little as she remembered their love-making. So she wanted to do something just as amazing for him.

But although she had been trained in multiple methods of seduction, none of them felt right for tonight. She wanted to show Chuck that this was for him—not for some random target, involving the same "sexy" routine. How could she seduce her boyfriend?

With a sigh, Sarah finished changing the sheets on the bed. She had splurged on 1200 thread-count Egyptian cotton sheets, but sheets didn't feel like enough. But at least it was something. She bit her lip as she contemplated whether to do sexy lingerie or something more casual like one of his t-shirts. Candles? Music?

As she tried to figure out what to do, her eyes drifted over the room, eventually landing on the photo of the two of them from the Halloween right after they met. Sarah smiled a little, remembering Chuck's reaction to the Princess Leia costume. He had been so adorable: awed and surprised, but also a gentleman. After his first quick look, his eyes had snapped to her face and had stayed there for the rest of the night.

She was so glad that she had replaced the faked photo with a real one.

Sarah paused as something occurred to her. The day she had given Chuck the first photo, the Photoshop job, she had been in his room because they were maintaining their cover for Ellie and Devon. And Chuck had asked her to stay for the length of an album. What was it?

It only took a moment, thanks to her nearly-photographic memory, for her to recall that it was Arcade Fire. And with that, the pieces of a plan began falling into place. Glancing at the clock, Sarah saw that she didn't have much time until Chuck would get home from his Buy More shift, so she got to work.

XXX

"Sarah?" Chuck's voice floated down the hallway.

"In here!" she called out through the half-open bedroom door. She adjusted herself on the bed and tousled her hair one last time as she waited for him to walk into the room.

"Hey, baby, are you hung—" Chuck stopped himself mid-word, freezing in the motion of loosening his tie, when he took in the bedroom. Candlelight flickered, dancing off the walls and the drapes that she had hung up over the windows, blocking the view into the courtyard. She had folded back the bed covers, revealing the new sheets that she was currently stretched out on, propping herself up on her hands. She watched as his eyes roamed over the white button-down (one of his Buy More shirts) that she'd taken from his closet and was wearing now. Not that she'd bothered fastening any of the buttons.

She gave him a soft smile. "Hi."

It took him a moment to reply, and when he did his words came out in a rush. "Hi. Wow. I—I so wasn't expecting this. I would have brought you flowers if I knew I was coming home to this."

Her smile widened. "You didn't have to bring me anything, you know. Just you."

Chuck looked around wildly. "Did I forget something? It was our anniversary yesterday, so why …"

"Why the candles and half-naked girlfriend waiting for you?" she finished, feeling the urge to tease him a little. She straightened up, seeing his eyes nearly bug out as the shirt shifted.

"Uh-huh," he said, staring at her.

Sarah shrugged her shoulders, nearly laughing at the small, almost inaudible "eep!" that came from Chuck at her movements. "I felt like surprising you."

This was the easy part. Being seductive like this, it was almost as natural as breathing. Of course, doing this with Chuck created many different emotions than if she was doing this with a mark, but still, the basic moves were easy. But the next step … that would be slightly scary. Because it was intimate. It was about them, not some random spy and the target she had to seduce.

But looking at Chuck, being a spy on a seduction mission was the last thing she wanted to think about right now. So she picked up the small remote for the iPod dock and hit play.

It only took about fifteen seconds of music playing for Chuck to identify the song. He gazed at her, his expression softening into one of amazement and love and complete, utter happiness. "This is Arcade Fire's first album."

She nodded, feeling a bit shy and vulnerable. "You said once that it was an auditory aphrodisiac."

"I did," he said, taking a step towards her. "What made you remember that?"

"I … I wanted to do something special for you tonight," she admitted, gazing up at him. Suddenly, she needed to touch him, needed something to hold on to amid this dizzying swell of emotion. She reached out and took his hands. "Because I missed you."

Chuck's smile was soft and warm and full of love. "I missed you, too," he said, leaning down to kiss her slowly.

She closed her eyes and kissed him back, gripping his hands tightly. As nice as this was, she wanted more. She tugged on his hands, pulling him down on the bed next to her. But he wasn't close enough. And she had to find a way to share with him all of what she was feeling.

XXX

Chuck appreciated the new sheets. He complimented her on making his work shirt sexy in a way he'd never considered. But when she asked him about the music, he smiled at her.

"You made it even better," he said softly, lightly kissing the tip of her nose.

She felt her cheeks go pink, then cuddled in against him. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close as the album ended and the music slowly faded away.


	14. Christmas

**Slices ****of ****Life**

**Author**: dettiot

**Rating**: T

**Summary**: A collection of ficlets, based off prompts received at my Tumblr.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Chuck_. No copyright infringement is intended.

XXX

**Christmas**

Set mid-season 3, before _Chuck vs. the Final Exam_.

Written for anonymous.

"Chuck and Sarah christmas? With baking? And everything else about christmas?"

XXX

As he approached the Orange Orange, Chuck found himself feeling nostalgic for last year. Which clearly was a sign of his continuing mental breakdown. Because last year at Christmas, he had been held hostage along with his family and co-workers, part of a Ring plot that had resulted in death and distrust.

But he'd still managed to get Sarah's agreement to attend the Bartowski Christmas celebration. Not that it had been much of a success, after he had seen her shoot Mauser in cold blood. Sarah had sensed his discomfort and had found an excuse to leave partway through the gathering.

This year might not be that much better, with the way things were between them. But in Ellie's eyes, Chuck and Sarah had moved past their latest rough patch and were friends, perhaps even on the cusp of dating again. So his sister thought Sarah should come to the Bartowskis' for Christmas. He just hoped he could convince Sarah.

When he stepped into the frozen yogurt shop, Sarah gave him a small smile. "Hi, Chuck."

"Hi, Sarah," he said, feeling a tiny flicker of hope. She was smiling at him, after all. That had to be a good sign, right? Once again, he cursed himself for how he had turned her down in Prague, for how he had messed things up between them so badly that he felt like he didn't know her anymore.

"What's up?" she asked him as she refilled the toppings containers.

"Um, well, you see … it's Christmas, you know."

Sarah paused, then gave herself a small shake. "Yes, I do know." She nibbled a little on her lower lip. "And since Ellie thinks we're seeing each other …"

"She expects you at the traditional Twilight Zone marathon on Christmas Day," Chuck finished, looking at Sarah. "She's promising Christmas cookie baking this year, too, if that helps to sway you." He smiled at her sheepishly, trying not to appear as awkward as he felt. They had agreed to be friends, but it was so damn hard. Especially now that Shaw was in the picture and he was everything Chuck wasn't.

He could see Sarah hesitating, and he opened his mouth to tell her it was okay if she didn't want to come, but she cut him off. "Okay."

"Really? Okay?" Chuck knew his eyes must be wide with disbelief.

Sarah nodded. "Okay. I … I don't have anywhere to be on Christmas Day, and I haven't seen Ellie in a while, and—and besides, we're friends. Friends spend Christmas together."

Friends. Of course that was what they were. Even though he had definite more-than-friends feelings for her, it didn't matter. Because she had moved on.

Chuck cleared his throat. "Yeah, of course. Morgan will be coming over for most of the day, after all."

Sarah nodded. "Okay, well, see you then. Oh, should I bring anything? Presents for everyone?"

It was on the tip of his tongue to say that she would be enough of a gift, but that was such a bad idea that even Morgan at his dumbest wouldn't have gone there. So Chuck just shook his head and said goodbye before heading back to the Buy More.

Last Christmas had been uncomfortable and awkward. He had a feeling this year would be even worse.

XXX

"Merry Christmas!"

The sound of Ellie's hyper-cheerful voice, greeting the newest arrival, made Chuck tense. Because that meant Sarah was here.

She looked absolutely beautiful, even in black yoga pants and a fuzzy red sweater, her hair loose and wavy. Chuck swallowed and wished suddenly he had put on actual clothes, instead of staying in his plaid pajama pants and t-shirt.

Sarah kissed Ellie's cheek and handed her a large poinsettia. "Merry Christmas, everyone. Thanks for having me."

"Of course!" Ellie said, smiling brightly at Sarah. "It wouldn't be Christmas without you. And not just because Chuck would look all sad and hang-dog all day."

"El …" Chuck said, feeling his face flush.

His sister smirked at him. It looked like Ellie Bartowski Woodcomb was playing matchmaker. Chuck sighed and turned to Sarah. For appearances' sake, he gave her a quick hug, getting an intoxicating whiff of the fragrance that screamed "Sarah" to him. "Merry Christmas, Sarah."

She hugged him back politely. "Merry Christmas. How's the Twilight Zone marathon coming?"

"We're just getting ready to watch The Monsters are Due on Maple Street," Morgan piped up. "Chuck said it was one of your favorites."

"I do like that one," Sarah said, pulling back from Chuck and smiling at Morgan. "Thanks for waiting for me."

"Anything for Chuck's best girl," Morgan said, winking dramatically at Sarah.

Chuck somehow managed to not roll his eyes. Ellie had found a willing accomplice in her matchmaking plans, it appeared. Given that Morgan knew the truth of Chuck's spy life and his "relationship" with Sarah, he was bound to be more difficult to handle than Ellie. Because while he could persuade Ellie to go easy on him by saying that things were complicated, Morgan knew the truth about how he felt about Sarah. And dissuading the little bearded man was nigh-on impossible, Chuck knew.

"Let's get started, then," Sarah said, sitting on the opposite end of the sofa from Morgan. Chuck looked at the seating arrangement and chose the chair next to Sarah. Close, but not too close.

"Where's Devon?" Sarah asked, looking around as Ellie came over with a new plate of snacks.

"He got called in to the hospital," Ellie said, her voice resigned. "But he should be back in a few hours. And we're under strict orders not to watch The Eye of the Beholder without him."

"Yes, ma'am," Morgan said, giving Ellie a salute before hitting play on the DVD remote.

Ellie took a seat next to Sarah and immediately began a conversation with her. Chuck did his best to watch the episode and not eavesdrop, because as hard as it was having Sarah this close, he hated having to hear her lie to his sister about how she felt about him.

XXX

It was so late that Christmas Day was nearly the day after Christmas. Morgan had just left and Ellie and Devon were both sleeping, curled up together on the couch. Chuck closed the door after Morgan and turned to look at Sarah.

"I guess you'll want to be heading home, too," he said quietly.

Sarah let out a small yawn and stretched. "Mmm, yeah. I don't know why I'm so sleepy. I just sat on the couch and ate Christmas cookies."

"Carbs and inactivity. Since you're not a nerd like me, you don't have years of training to help you handle something like that," Chuck said, smiling at her.

Sarah gave him a cheeky grin and stood up. "I'm going to use the bathroom before I go." She walked down the hall and Chuck couldn't help watching her.

Today had gone so much better than he had anticipated. There had been a few awkward moments, yes, but all in all, it had been a good Christmas. Sarah had joined in on all the activities: debating the best Twilight Zone episode of all time, decorating Christmas cookies, and throwing candy at Ellie and Devon when they started getting handsy.

Chuck grinned a little and started tidying up the living room. Ellie stirred and looked up at him. "Did everyone go?" she asked sleepily.

"Morgan just left and Sarah will be leaving in a few minutes, once she's done with the bathroom," Chuck said as he stacked plates.

"Oh, don't worry about cleaning up, Chuck," Ellie said, shifting to nudge Devon. "We can do it in the morning. Devon, wake up."

Her husband mumbled and wrapped his arms around Ellie, prompting a big smile to appear on her face. Chuck grinned, even as he felt sad that he couldn't have something like that.

Sarah stepped into the living room and picked up her purse. "So I'm going. Thank you for inviting me."

"It was great to have you here," Chuck said, meaning every word. Because it was true: having Sarah there, even with all the feelings he couldn't tell her about, was better than not having her there.

She smiled at him softly and turned towards the door.

"G'night, Sarah—oh, you're under the mistletoe!" Ellie said, grinning a little. "You were so ninja-like, avoiding it all day."

Even in the dimly-lit living room, Chuck could see how pink Sarah's face was getting. "Oh, I didn't think anyone noticed that …" Sarah said slowly, looking up at the sprig of mistletoe hanging from the ceiling.

"I did," Ellie said. "Go on, Chuck. Kiss her."

Chuck swallowed. As much as he wished he could give Sarah a real kiss—his lips were practically vibrating at the thought—he knew that wasn't possible. Sarah was with Shaw now. Rather than argue with his sister, he leaned in and quickly brushed a kiss over Sarah's cheek. "Merry Christmas."

And because this was just the heart-breaking angel on his Christmas tree of sadness, Chuck didn't look at Sarah and didn't wait for Ellie to tease him about not kissing Sarah for real. He just turned and walked down the hall to his room.

XXX

The soft knock on his door, five minutes later, made Chuck sigh. "Go away, Ellie," he said, his voice muffled from laying face-down on his bed.

"It's Sarah."

At the sound of her voice, Chuck jack-knifed upright. "Sarah?" he asked weakly.

The woman in question opened the door slightly, looking at him before she stepped inside and pushed the door shut behind her. Chuck blinked at her. "I thought you were going," he said, grasping for anything to say.

"I—I was," she said, fidgeting with her purse before she opened it and pulled out a small, colorfully-wrapped gift. "But I realized I forgot to give you your present."

He stood slowly, staring at the gift in her hand. "You got me a present?"

Sarah nodded. "Yes. It—it's Christmas, after all." She looked up at him, her eyes luminous in the glow that bled into his room from the courtyard's Christmas lights.

"I'm sorry about the mistletoe," he blurted out. "I didn't want to argue with Ellie, so I thought just kissing you would be the easiest thing to do, but—" He cut himself off, not wanting to keep babbling and end up revealing something he shouldn't.

"But it wasn't so easy?" she asked, holding his eyes with hers, the blue depths churning with secret thoughts and emotions just like they had so many times before.

Chuck took a deep breath and nodded, not trusting his voice.

"Me, too," Sarah said in a whisper. She gestured with the gift in her hands. "Merry Christmas, Chuck."

He took the gift slowly, but didn't open it. "I have something for you, too," he said, going to his desk and opening a drawer. "I didn't know when to give it to you, but—but here you go," he said, handing her the present that he'd spent a whole weekend agonizing over before purchasing it and shoving it out of sight.

Sarah's smile lit up her whole face as she took her present. "Thank you, Chuck." She looked at him, then sat down on his bed to open it, going slowly, as if she wasn't used to getting presents.

Because she wasn't, Chuck remembered. So he sat down next to her, watching her and savoring her joy at his gift to her. And then he opened his, feeling his heart leap at her thoughtfulness and knowledge of what he'd like. And suddenly, things didn't seem as bleak as they had earlier.

Perhaps, even though Sarah was dating Shaw now, there might still be hope for them. It—it wouldn't hurt to try, would it? To make one last attempt at proving to Sarah that they were perfect for each other? That together they could be happy?

Maybe, just maybe, there was still a chance for them to have a Christmas miracle.


	15. Saturday

**Slices ****of ****Life**

**Author**: dettiot

**Rating**: T

**Summary**: A collection of ficlets, based off prompts received at my Tumblr.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Chuck_. No copyright infringement is intended.

XXX

**Saturday**

Set mid-season 5.

Written for anonymous.

"Just a normal day in Chuck and Sarah's life doing normal things."

XXX

With a contented sigh, Chuck Bartowski rolled over in bed and cuddled up against his wife.

It was still pretty amazing to him that he had a wife at all. When he considered just who he had married, it got mind-blowing. Because his wife was beautiful, smart, caring … and she loved him just as much as he loved her.

Life was good.

Chuck brushed a soft kiss over Sarah's temple. She let out a soft little mumble and moved closer to him, her hand rubbing against his back.

He grinned. "Feeling like a slugabed, baby?"

"'S not fair, how cheerful you are in the mornings," Sarah grumbled, opening one eye and looking up at him.

"Waking up to you makes me cheerful. Sue me," he said, with a grin and a shrug of his shoulders.

Sarah huffed out a laugh. "No fair being charming after waking me up." But she smiled back at him and kissed him softly. "Mmm … can't we just stay in bed today?"

"Don't you remember what we talked about last night? About running errands and swinging by that video game exhibit at the LA Art Museum, before dinner with Ellie and Awesome?" He stroked her hair back from her face.

She yawned and stretched, pressing up against him. "But staying in bed would be so much fun …"

Playing fair was not in Sarah Walker Bartowski's vocabulary. Not with how she was rubbing against him. "But—but—fun things to do! Out of bed!" he protested half-heartedly.

Sarah smirked at him. "I don't think I need to explain the fun things we can do in bed, do I? Not to my smart, handsome husband?" She leaned in and kissed his neck softly, then let out a soft giggle. "You are really trying to hold out."

"Yes, I am," he said, trying not to gasp. "But … but if you really don't want to do all those things …"

She gazed at him, then smiled and shook her head. "No, we need to take care of our errands. And you've been looking forward to seeing that exhibit for weeks."

Chuck nodded, feeling a bit sheepish. "And it's the last weekend for it, so …"

"So staying in bed all day will have to wait for tomorrow," Sarah said, kissing his cheek. "I like doing that on Sundays better anyway."

"Me, too," Chuck said, grinning at her as he sat up. "Race you to the shower?"

Instead of answering, Sarah threw back the covers. But Chuck had anticipated that and already had a leg on the floor. And for once, he didn't get caught up in the covers. So he managed to beat Sarah to the shower, something that she rewarded him for achieving.

XXX

Dressed in Chucks, jeans, a t-shirt and a Dodgers hat, Chuck carried their dry-cleaning with one hand, his arm bent to allow the clothes to rest against his back. His other hand was wrapped around Sarah's, swinging gently as they walked through the outdoor shopping complex that was close to their apartment.

They did the bulk of their errand-running at this place, and today was no exception. For now, they were just doing some window-shopping before making the last stop at the grocery store.

Sarah's footsteps slowed as they walked past a children's clothing boutique. He felt his heart leap up into his throat as he watched Sarah look at the tiny shoes and outfits displayed. After that moment of thinking Sarah might be pregnant, they had talked a little more about having children. Chuck knew that was what he wanted, with all his heart—but he didn't want to rush Sarah. And besides, they had been married less than a year. It might make him selfish, but he liked having this time with Sarah. Falling more in love with her every day, finding new ways to make her smile … he was happy with his life right now.

After a long moment, Sarah seemed to realize what she was doing. She looked at him, her expression shy. Chuck gave her a smile and squeezed her hand, but he wasn't sure what to say. Sarah seemed equally uncertain. "Everything … everything's so small," she said softly, gesturing towards the window.

He nodded. "Yeah. When Clara was born, I couldn't believe how tiny some of her clothes were."

"And how much she needed," Sarah said, giving him a small smile. "But after that first time we babysat, I understood why."

Chuck laughed softly, remembering that occasion. "It wasn't that bad."

"Maybe not for you, Mr. Perfect Caregiver," Sarah said, picking up her feet and heading towards the parking lot. "I felt completely over my head."

Chuck dropped her hand and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "You did great. And you keep getting better."

Sarah nodded, still looking uncertain. Chuck kissed the top of her head and did his best to change the subject gracefully. "So what do we need at the supermarket?"

It wasn't that graceful, but Sarah just gave him a smile and started listing off what they needed, her crazy-nearly-perfect memory negating the need for an actual list. And as he smiled and teased with her through the rest of their errands, he found himself wishing that one day they could have a baby who'd grow up with Sarah's crazy-nearly-perfect memory.

XXX

"This is the most amazing exhibit I've ever seen!"

Sarah couldn't help smiling at her husband's words. He had been so excited about this video game retrospective, ever since he had heard about it. He'd made plans a few times to come with Morgan, but between Morgan's issues with the Intersect and their workload, it hadn't happened. So she'd encouraged Chuck to come this weekend, adding the carrot that she would come along with him.

He'd agreed happily, and now he was moving around like a toddler on fast-forward, half-dragging her from one display to the next. Soaking up every little detail, his eyes shone with delight and joy at seeing his favorite games honored.

It was adorable and sweet and even a little sexy, if she was honest with herself. And when it came to Chuck, she found it easy to be honest. Because … because he was so interested, in everything and everyone, that when he chose to focus on her, she couldn't help feeling special. It was a pretty heady sensation, having Chuck Bartowski focus on you.

She looked around, enjoying the exhibit more for how Chuck was experiencing it. Randomly, she gave thanks that she had chosen flat boots to go with her jeans and blue blouse today, rather than heels. Because with how Chuck was pulling her around the museum, she would have had trouble keeping up.

"Oh, yeah!" Chuck crowed when they reached the area with games set up for playing. He grinned at her and kissed her cheek. "You wanna try any?"

Looking around, Sarah didn't see anything that looked that interesting … or that easy for a complete neophyte like her. Then she spotted a Pac-man cabinet in the corner, and she was taken back to that summer in Wichita, when she pumped quarters into the dingy-looking version that had sat by the office of the motel she and her dad stayed at.

Sarah looked at Chuck and smiled. "I'll be over at Pac-man." She kissed his cheek in return. "Have fun, baby."

She knew it wouldn't take him that long to defeat the other games. And within ten minutes, she could feel him standing behind her as she maneuvered Pac-man through the maze, avoiding the ghosts and scooping up as many points as she could reach.

When he rested his hands on her hips, Sarah wondered if her life could get much better than this.

XXX

"So how about you two?" Ellie asked, smiling at Sarah and Chuck across from the dinner table. "What was your day like?"

"Oh, pretty quiet," Sarah said. "We ran some errands, then Chuck had fun at that video game exhibit at the county art museum."

"It was amazing!" Chuck said, explaining to Devon all about the exhibit.

Ellie laughed and rolled her eyes. "Thank God he's your problem now and you have to suffer through those kinds of things," she said, the kindness of her voice undercutting her gentle mocking.

Sarah looked at Chuck, watching him gesture as he talked to Devon. He was her problem, yes. Her happiness, her worry, her early-morning kisses and good-night hugs, her nerd and her partner and her future. Her husband.

When she looked back to Ellie, she knew she must look like a love-struck puppy, like a girl with her first crush. But from Ellie's wide smile, Sarah knew that Ellie was happy that her brother was in such good hands.

"Yeah, he's all mine," she said softly, reaching out to take Chuck's hand. And when he turned and smiled brightly at her before drawing Ellie into his conversation with Devon, Sarah knew that she could never be happier than she was in this moment.


	16. Ring

**Slices ****of ****Life**

**Author**: dettiot

**Rating**: T

**Summary**: A collection of ficlets, based off prompts received at my Tumblr.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Chuck_. No copyright infringement is intended.

XXX

**Ring**

Set mid-season 4.

Written for anonymous.

"Chuck and Sarah Christmas season 4."

XXX

Christmas was one of Chuck's favorite times of the year. Even after seeing first-hand the crass commercialism of the season during eight years at the Buy More. Even after acknowledging that for terrorists and criminals, Christmas was just another day. Even with the strange juxtaposition of seeing inflatable snowmen next to palm trees. He still loved Christmas.

And this year, he wanted to make things very special for Sarah. So far, their Christmases had been marked by distrust and self-doubt. But this year, they were together and happy. And he was realizing that he wanted to have that forever.

He wanted to propose to Sarah. And what better time than Christmas? It would be a way to close the book on those past Christmases and make a new start.

The big question was, just how should he do it? On Christmas morning in front of everyone? Alone on Christmas Eve? With a ring or without? Should he go for the romantic dream or something more holiday-themed?

It was too bad that he'd ruled out using a modified version of his proposal plan. Once Sarah had found an older draft, Chuck had vowed to come up with a better plan—the perfect plan. A plan that would guarantee Sarah saying yes. Because even though he knew Sarah loved him, and Morgan had told him what she had said while he had been captured by the Belgian … he was still nervous about this.

So here he was, getting ready to walk into the jewelry store that Awesome had recommended. Although the gap between a doctor's salary and a computer support tech/spy was pretty large, Devon had reassured him that he'd be able to find something in his price range. His brother-in-law had even offered to come along. But Chuck had turned him down. This was something he wanted to do on his own.

As he stepped inside the quietly elegant shop, Chuck felt his stomach tighten. All he wanted was to marry Sarah. To have her in his life always, to give her someone she knew would always be there for her. He wanted it all: the wedding and the honeymoon and years together and children and a house and everything. And it felt like it was all riding on the ring he got her. That if he didn't get the right one, she'd take one look and get cold feet and say no.

Which made him feel a little ashamed: Sarah had never expressed any kind of materialistic desires. She wasn't someone who wanted expensive things. There was her Porsche and her shoes, of course, but she took care of both of those items carefully, like a woman who hadn't grown up with luxury. She wasn't going to turn him down if the ring wasn't big enough. But the ring was a symbol, a promise. And how could their lives together start on the right foot if the ring wasn't right?

Chuck swallowed. He was freaking out a little. Even though Devon had given Ellie his grandmother's ring, he had said he had followed an easy rule.

"When you look at a ring, you just have to picture it on Sarah's hand. If you can't do it, it's not the right one."

It sounded easy, since a ring would have to be pretty special to belong on Sarah's finger. So he just had to take his time and consider all the options and hopefully, he'd find what he was looking for.

A slim African-American woman who looked a few years older than Ellie approached him. "Good afternoon," she said with a smile. "Can I help you with anything?"

She seemed so friendly that Chuck felt himself relaxing a little. "Um, yes, well—" He looked around, almost as if he expected Sarah to appear behind him, then took a deep breath. "I want to propose to my girlfriend, because it's Christmas and we've always had bad Christmases and I want to change that and since I love her so much, I thought, well, why not pop the question at Christmas?"

The saleswoman didn't bat an eye. "So you're looking for an engagement ring? I'd be happy to help you with that, sir." She held her hand out. "My name is Karen."

"Oh, I'm Chuck," he said, quickly shaking her hand. "Sorry about the babbling—I, um, I tend to freak out when I'm nervous."

Karen gave him an understanding smile. "It's natural to be nervous, but you're in good hands. Why don't we sit down and talk for a few minutes about your girlfriend, so I can have some idea of what rings to show you?" She gestured to one of the desks set between the jewelry cases, then started walking towards it.

Chuck nodded and followed her. Having a woman's opinion on this would be a big help. He'd considered asking Ellie to come, but his big sister, although blessed with many admirable qualities, couldn't keep a secret to save her soul. But Karen seemed nice, so it was easy to sit down across from her and start talking about Sarah.

XXX

If it had been allowed, Chuck would have given Karen a tip. A big one. Because it had taken nearly two hours for him to find the right ring. And he thought Karen was beginning to wish she hadn't approached him when he whipped out a jeweler's loupe to inspect the diamonds in the final six contenders. (He knew that online gemology class he had taken would pay off beyond missions!) Karen had even pulled some strings to help get the ring down to a price he could pay.

Hopefully, his heartfelt thanks to Karen had been enough. But Chuck made a mental note to stop by after the holiday with a gift card for her. Even if the proposal didn't work out.

But he didn't think that would be the case. Because the ring was perfect. Not too large that it'd interfere with Sarah's work, but large enough to make an impact. It might be his imagination, but the diamond in this ring seemed extra-sparkly.

It was perfect for Sarah.

The ring was now safely ensconced in a small red box, almost like a present, and inside a matching red bag. He had decided that Christmas Eve was the right time to ask her. He'd get gardenias and light some candles in their apartment and then … then he'd ask her the most important question he'd ever asked anyone.

And if luck was on his side, Sarah would give him the best Christmas present he'd ever received by saying yes.


	17. Family

**Slices ****of ****Life**

**Author**: dettiot

**Rating**: T

**Summary**: A collection of ficlets, based off prompts received at my Tumblr.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Chuck_. No copyright infringement is intended.

XXX

**Family**

Set in the future.

Written for hotski.

"Chuck and Sarah is celebrating their son's birthday."

XXX

Casey Stephen Bartowski knew that turning five was a big deal. It meant going to school and seeing if it was as fun as his big sister Willow said. It meant he'd be allowed to play on his daddy's X-Box, instead of being stuck with the only-for-babies Wii. It meant he wasn't a little kid anymore.

But best of all, turning five years old meant he was the one in charge today. So at seven in the morning, he peeked into his parents' room.

Mommy and Daddy were both asleep, although Daddy might be awake and playing possum. He liked to do that, Casey knew.

Tiptoeing into the room, he edged closer to the bed. He crouched down by the end of the bed, watching his parents for a minute, before he carefully climbed up on the bed and crawled in-between them.

Here was safe. Between his tall, strong daddy and his really strong mommy with a little brother or sister for him in her belly. Even though he wasn't sleepy, Casey closed his eyes and cuddled in against his parents.

When he woke up again, it was to feel his daddy's hand on his back. "Good mornin', Case."

He smiled at the nickname his parents used, to help keep him separate from Uncle Casey. "G'morning, Daddy."

"You're up early," Daddy said, ruffling Casey's dark blonde hair and smiling at him.

"Today's important," Casey said, looking up at him.

His daddy's eyes, just like Casey's, sparkled. "Hmmm, is it? I thought it was just a normal Saturday …"

"Daddddddy," Casey said.

He laughed quietly and scooped up Casey. "No, you're right. Today is very important, because today is your birthday."

Casey beamed at him. "Uh-huh! And I wanna have pancakes for breakfast and then go to the zoo and then play with Jaina at Uncle Morgan and Aunt Alex's house and have pizza for dinner and open presents!"

"In that order? You think you can wait until tonight to open your presents?" his daddy asked with a grin.

"Oh," Casey said, frowning a little.

"Your daddy's teasin' you, Case," his mommy said, her voice sounding sleepy.

"Did we wake you up, Mommy?" Casey asked, turning to look at her. "I tried to be quiet, honest."

His mommy, who was the prettiest mommy in the whole world, smiled at him. "It's okay, baby. Happy birthday," she said, leaning in and kissing his cheek.

"Thank you," he said, snuggling in against her. "Do you want to have pancakes with me this morning?"

"Mmm, yes," his mommy said, wrapping her arms around him. "Blueberry ones."

Casey pouted. "Chocolate chip?"

"Or I can do both," his daddy said, since he was the official pancake-maker in the Bartowski house.

"Yay!" Casey said, smiling widely at his daddy.

"Yay!" said another voice from the doorway. His big sister Willow came dashing into the room, jumping up on the bed. "I love birthdays. Even when it's not mine."

His mommy laughed. "Good morning, Willow."

"Morning, Mom, morning, Dad," his sister said, leaning over and kissing both of them. Then she hugged him tightly. "Happy birthday, Case!"

Casey hugged her back. Even though Willow was nearly a grown-up (she was going to be _nine_ on her next birthday!) she was a really nice big sister. "We're goin' to the zoo and seein' Jaina and havin' pizza tonight!"

Willow wiggled with excitement and Casey joined in. Their daddy laughed. "Okay, you squirmy ones, go wash up and meet me in the kitchen for Casey's Pancake Extravaganza."

"Okay!" Casey said, squeezing past Willow and hopping off the bed. As they ran into their shared bathroom, he turned to his sister. "Willow? What's 'stravaganza?"

And as they washed their hands, Willow explained the latest of their daddy's big words.

XXX

Sarah smiled at Chuck. "Chocolate chip and blueberry pancakes? You are spoiling our son."

With the smile she fell in love with so many years ago, her husband leaned in and kissed her softly. "If you can't get spoiled on your birthday, when can you?"

She kissed him back, savoring the feel of him. "Mmm. Good point." A rumbling from her stomach made her look down and rub the swell caused by the seven-month baby inside her. "Soon we'll have one more to spoil."

"I can't wait," Chuck said, his eyes bright. "One more chance to see if we get a baby with your eyes."

Sarah smiled up at him. "You're sweet." She pushed herself up into a sitting position. "Case is going to flip out when his uncle Casey shows up tonight."

"Yep—he really doesn't have any idea," Chuck said with a smile. "It's been too long since we saw Casey, too."

She nodded in agreement. "I told Casey that Nerf guns were allowed once Case turned five, so you know what Casey will be bringing."

"Can't Nerf make a tranq gun version?"

Giggling, she kissed his cheek before getting out of bed. "How would that even work?"

Chuck thought about it for a moment, then shrugged and grinned at her. "You wanna shower while I make breakfast?"

"Yes, please," Sarah said, stretching a little and seeing that same spark in Chuck's eyes he got whenever he looked at her. "And go easy on the chocolate chips in the pancakes."

"Nope," Chuck said, sliding out of bed and pulling on a pair of sweat pants over his boxers. "It's Case's birthday."

Sarah grinned. "Okay, okay, I know when I'm outnumbered."

He grinned back and kissed her quickly. "See you downstairs."

As she watched her husband walk out of their bedroom, Sarah found herself rubbing her stomach. It seemed like just yesterday that she was pregnant with Case, and now her little boy was turning five years old. While Willow was the spitting image of Chuck, in looks and personality, Case's shaggy blonde hair and big brown eyes was more like a mix of Chuck and herself. But his personality was a lot like hers. He was a little daredevil, causing her to already lose a bit of sleep over him. He also was warm and loving, just like Chuck.

With a happy sigh, Sarah Walker Bartowski decided she'd rather skip her shower and spend more time with her family. So she left her bedroom and walked down to the kitchen, hearing the happy voices of her husband and children the whole way.


	18. Sandwiches

**Slices ****of ****Life**

**Author**: dettiot

**Rating**: T

**Summary**: A collection of ficlets, based off prompts received at my Tumblr.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Chuck_. No copyright infringement is intended.

XXX

**Sandwiches**

Set early season 5.

Written for steleneasdiaries.

"I always wondered how it would be if Chuck and Sarah meet Lou again. After they got Married."

XXX

It all started when Devon started raving about a sandwich shop that had opened near the hospital.

"Seriously awesome sandwiches, bro," Devon said to Chuck as they stood in the kitchen before dinner. "I've never been much of a sandwich man, because of the carbs, but these are worth breaking the rules. Really awesome Indian meets LA food."

Chuck grinned. "What's the name of this place? The next time I come visit Ellie at the hospital, I'll bring her lunch."

"The place is called the Daily Delhi. Excellent idea, Chuckster—Ellie's been working so hard, trying to get caught up after her maternity leave. I worry she's skipping lunch too often."

"And we can't have my sister and your wife passing out from hunger," Chuck said, grinning as he filled wine glasses for himself and Sarah.

Devon clapped Chuck on the shoulder, a move that still made Chuck take a step forward to recover from the impact. "Nope. Hey, how are you and Sarah doing? Married life suiting you?"

Almost unconsciously, Chuck looked out into the living room, locating Sarah. She was talking to Ellie, a big smile on her face. Seeing that made Chuck feel like his heart was expanding in his chest.

Devon chuckled softly. "Answer's written all over your face, man. And that's awesome." He slapped Chuck on the shoulder again and went into the living room. And since there was no reason to stay in the kitchen when his beautiful, amazing wife wasn't there, Chuck followed Devon.

XXX

Two weeks after that dinner at Ellie and Devon's, Chuck and Sarah were running their normal Saturday errands. As their car idled at a stoplight, he looked around and spotted a bright orange sign that said The Daily Delhi.

"Hey, that's the place that Devon told me about," Chuck said, pointing towards the sign. "How about we get lunch there and then get something to take to Ellie? She's working today."

Sarah smiled at him. "Ellie was telling me that she suspected Devon was coercing you into 'ganging up on her'."

"Ganging up on her?" Chuck snorted. "Ellie's a mom now—and that's still a little weird to say—but that means she can't act like she's still in med school, skipping meals when she gets caught up in something."

"Hmm," Sarah said, steering the car into a parking lot behind the strip mall that housed the restaurant. "I guess that runs in the family, huh?"

He squirmed a little in his seat. "It almost never happens now …"

She laughed. "I know, baby." Sarah parked the car and then kissed his cheek. "I think it's a great idea, and Devon is right—Ellie needs to take care of herself, too."

Chuck beamed at her. "I have the best wife in the world." He said it because it was true and because Sarah still got this pretty pink flush on her face whenever he called her 'his wife'.

"Let's go eat and then you can be the best brother in the world," Sarah said, stepping out of the car. Chuck grinned and grabbed Sarah's hand as they walked up to the restaurant.

When they stepped inside the Daily Delhi, Chuck felt like his senses were getting assaulted, but in a good way. The walls were painted in shades of pink and orange, accentuated with golden trim and statues. The place smelled amazing: the scent of spices hung in the air, mingling with fragrant coffee and fruit aromas.

Chuck looked at Sarah and grinned. "So far, so good."

She nodded. "It definitely reminds me of places in India."

"Yeah? Like where?" he asked, falling into conversation with her as they joined the six-deep line. He loved asking Sarah about the places she had traveled over the years. After three months of marriage, she was slowly starting to share more and more of those stories.

He was so engrossed in her story that he'd only given the large menu boards a cursory glance before they reached the counter. Sarah had finished talking and turned to look at the menu, but Chuck was frozen in place. Because the woman behind the counter was his ex, Lou.

"The chicken curry wrap sounds really good," Sarah said, smiling at Lou. "How spicy—"

Chuck watched Sarah's eyes widen as she realized who was waiting for their order.

"Well," Lou said. "Of all the Indian-American fusion sandwich shops in the world, you had to walk into mine, Chuck Bartowski."

He cleared his throat, feeling awkward. The way their relationship had worked out had always prompted guilt whenever he thought about it. "Hey, Lou. It's good to see you."

She was now a bit less slim and her hair was cut in a short, messy bob, but Lou didn't seem to have changed on the inside. She quirked an eyebrow at him. "Gotten over your cheating scumbag ways?" She gestured towards Sarah.

"Hey," Sarah said, sounding irritated. "You dated for a few weeks, five years ago."

Lou sighed and held her hands up. "Sorry. Seeing you two again, I'm right back in that bad time in my life."

"It was a bad time for you?" Chuck asked, feeling the guilt increase.

"After dating Stavros, you seemed like such a nice guy, Chuck. Just what I wanted," Lou said. "And you are a nice guy, you just weren't my nice guy."

"I'm really sorry about what happened, Lou …" he started to say, only for Lou to wave her hand in the air.

"Like she said, it was five years ago. A lot of water's gone under the bridge. And at least you two figured things out."

Sarah gave Lou a small, slightly apologetic smile. "Yeah. And you seem good. This place looks amazing—and the food's even better, if Chuck's brother-in-law is any judge."

Feeling grateful for Sarah coming up with a way to shift the conversation into slightly less awkward waters, Chuck jumped in. "What gave you the idea to do Indian sandwiches?"

Lou smiled, her face lighting up. "About four years ago, I went to India and it changed my life. I stayed there for three years, teaching English and learning everything I could about the different Indian regional cuisines. Then I came back here and opened up this place."

Chuck smiled widely. "That's really great."

"Thanks," Lou said. "Now, how about you two order something?"

"Right!" Chuck said. He gave Lou his order, followed by Sarah.

"Give me five minutes," Lou said. "Find a seat and your sandwiches will be brought out."

XXX

Once Chuck found them a small table to sit at, he looked at Sarah with a sheepish expression. "I did not know that would happen."

"It really is a small world," Sarah said quietly. She reached out and took his hand. "But it's okay."

"Really?" Chuck asked, gazing at her. "You … you didn't seem like Lou's biggest fan, back in the day."

She gave him a small smile. "Of course I wasn't. I had already fallen for you but I couldn't tell you that. And you 'broke up' with me to date her."

Chuck winced. "Sorry? Again?"

Sarah laughed softly and squeezed his hand. "It's okay. Just don't go getting any ideas, Mr. Bartowski. I wouldn't give up nearly so easily now."

He gave her a big smile. "You don't have anything to worry about."

So even if the sandwiches were amazing, Chuck thought to himself, this would be a one-time visit. After all, Sarah was the perfect woman to him. But he didn't know if he wanted to see what she looked like when she was jealous.

It was crazy that she would get jealous about him, because he was just Chuck AND who else in the world could compare to Sarah? But if there was one thing married life had taught him so far, it was to treat Sarah not like the goddess he thought she was, but as the woman she was. And that meant remembering she had flaws and insecurities like everyone else.

So hopefully Devon was wrong and the sandwiches weren't that good. But Chuck was more than willing to skip good food if it meant making his wife happy.


	19. Babysitting

**Slices ****of ****Life**

**Author**: dettiot

**Rating**: T

**Summary**: A collection of ficlets, based off prompts received at my Tumblr.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Chuck_. No copyright infringement is intended.

XXX

**Babysitting**

Set late season 4.

Written for anonymous.

"One Word: babysitting."

XXX

Sarah Walker had seen and done things most people couldn't even imagine. Some of them were disgusting, some were deadly. A few, in retrospect, had been kind of fun.

At this point, it looked like babysitting Clara Woodcomb would definitely be the first one.

"Oh, that is—that is smelly," Chuck said upon opening Clara's diaper. "Such a pretty little baby, making something that yucky. My freshman year dorm room smelled less bad."

Sarah watched Chuck, feeling the corners of her mouth turn up in a smile. Even though he was complaining about the smell, he hadn't stopped smiling at Clara. It was rather sweet. It was clear that someday, Chuck would be a really good father. Better than her father had been.

Jack Burton hadn't been much for coddling his daughter. She was expected to do her part in the cons and otherwise stay quiet and not complain. He hadn't been cruel or abusive, not in the ways she had seen men be towards their children since she joined the CIA. But that didn't mean it was the best way to bring up a child, she thought.

"Sarah, hand me the wipes," Chuck said, snapping her out of her memories.

"Oh, yes," she said, handing him the container of wipes. "You seem good at this."

"Believe it or not, I did some babysitting one summer," Chuck said, giving her a grin. "Ellie was getting ready for college and working as many hours as she could get, so she wasn't up for driving me around. And I was nearly fifteen—watching the kids next door was the lesser evil compared to my sister chauffeuring me everywhere."

"Really?" Sarah asked, surprised at the thought of Chuck being reluctant to be seen with Ellie.

"Well, it was also about protecting Ellie from Morgan's teenage advances. If you thought he was a little creepy a few years ago, you don't wanna know what he was like at fourteen," Chuck said with a laugh as he fastened the diaper around Clara.

Sarah helped Chuck fasten the snaps on Clara's footed onesie. "Thank you for taking care of the diaper."

"No problem," he said easily. "Although the next one is yours."

"What?" she squawked as Chuck lifted up Clara and handed her to Sarah.

"You should learn. I'm actually surprised you don't already know. It seems like something a spy would learn, during field medic training or something."

Her arms full of squirming baby was not the time to remember the last time she had changed a diaper. Not when Chuck didn't know about that mission right before she had come to Burbank, about …

Sarah swallowed, schooling her face into her best attempt at a smile. "Sure, of course."

Chuck gave her a quick look, then smiled softly. She could guess what he was thinking. He had been subtle but emphatic that he'd like to have children someday. Now that they were engaged, it was a conversation they would need to have soon. And she didn't know how she felt about that.

Sarah looked down at Clara, who was gnawing on her fist and drooling. She looked up at Sarah and let out a soft gurgle, banging her wet hand against Sarah's designer top.

And just like that, Sarah's heart melted a little. She curled her arms a little more protectively around Clara and looked at Chuck. "So you babysat one summer. What other kind of jobs did you have?"

"I worked at a couple of fast-food places. And I worked at the Buy More's competition for a few weeks."

Sarah grinned a little. "The store that shall not be named?" she said, using the term that Chuck and Morgan always employed when talking about the Buy More's blue-and-yellow rival.

"They're like if Voldemort ran an electronics store," Chuck said with a grin. "I got out as fast as I could."

She nodded as they walked down the stairs to the Woodcomb living room. "And then went to work at the Buy More?" she asked, sitting down on the sofa and letting Clara explore the cushion next to her.

"Yep," Chuck said, sitting down beside Clara and lifting her up in the air. "I just worked summers, mostly, until after Stanford."

Leaning back against the cushions and watching Chuck play with his niece, Sarah felt the knot in her chest loosen a little. At some point, she'd need to tell him about that mission, the one that lead to her cutting off contact with her own mother. But she wasn't ready yet. Just like the thought of discussing children was still a little scary to her.

She might not be ready today … but she knew that when she was, he'd be there, eager to listen and to help her. Sarah looked down at her hand, at the engagement ring on her finger. It could still surprise her, the thought of getting married. But when she thought of marrying Chuck, it seemed like the simplest, best idea in the world.

And maybe someday, it'd be the same way when it came to a baby. Just having a baby seemed impossible to her, but having a baby with Chuck …

"Look! It's Clara Air!" Chuck proclaimed, 'flying' Clara through the air. She was giggling happily as Chuck cuddled her against his chest.

Suddenly, Sarah didn't want to be lost in her thoughts and on the other end of the couch from Chuck. She slid over, curling up against him. He turned to look at her, then gave her a smile. "Okay?"

"Yeah," she said softly. And as they spent the rest of the afternoon babysitting Clara, playing with her and feeding her, complete with Sarah changing her diaper, she found herself realizing that this was fun, too.


	20. Catastrophe

**Slices ****of ****Life**

**Author**: dettiot

**Rating**: T

**Summary**: A collection of ficlets, based off prompts received at my Tumblr.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Chuck_. No copyright infringement is intended.

XXX

**Catastrophe**

Set in the future, during my fic After the Beach at the six-month mark.

Written for mysongstory/PeterOinNJ.

"How about a slice of life After The Beach - the first time Chuck makes his famous Chicken Pepperoni for Sarah."

XXX

Crying in your car wasn't the safest thing, whether driving or parked, but right now, Sarah Walker (who for a little while had been Sarah Bartowski) needs the release. At least she had managed to hold back the brunt of her tears until she was parked in her space at the apartment she shared with Chuck.

Today's therapy session had been difficult, perhaps the most difficult so far. She had felt things shifting inside her over the last week or so, and when she had told her therapist that, the woman hadn't hesitated to make Sarah deal with that shift. To analyze what it meant. And through all her equivocations and hesitations, Sarah knew what was happening. And it scared her so much.

She was falling in love with Chuck. Again. Or for the first time. She didn't know. And that very fact was what made her second-guess herself, made Sarah wonder if anything in her life was real. And because she knew Chuck had worked from home today, she couldn't cry in the comfort of her room. So her Lotus (which still didn't really feel like hers because she kept looking for the Porsche) would have to do.

Were these strange impulses inside her—to protect Chuck, to hug him, to do nothing but listen to him talk—signs of love? Or were they just memories, things that were ephemeral and fleeting and couldn't be trusted? Because the memories were so hard to believe sometimes, to build a thought process on. A memory of making him omelets (and using up two dozen eggs as she learned how) could mean anything. She could have been doing it as part of her cover, not because she wanted to cook for Chuck. Given how she never felt like cooking and always prepared basic dishes on her nights to cook, she wasn't sure why she could remember cooking Chuck an omelet. And did he even like omelets? Maybe he had eaten it just to be polite.

Sarah looked at the dashboard clock and made herself take a few deep breaths. Chuck was patient and kind and understanding, but she knew he worried if she deviated from her normal routines. She'd fallen into those routines in the first days after she had come back, as a way to block off all the hours in each long day. Now, though, the routine was comforting for both of them. And she found the thought of making Chuck worry, of causing him even mild distress, made her stomach churn a little. She hesitated, though, as she pulled the bottle of Visine and a compact of powder from her makeup bag.

Her therapist had told her that letting Chuck in, showing him more of how she felt, could be one way of dealing with her emotions. "Part of your fear stems from uncertainty: of not knowing how he'll react," she had told Sarah. "So try to find situations where you can share with him. It doesn't have to be in words—it can be as simple as laughing at a joke or leaving a little less space between you. Give him some signs and see how he responds and how his response makes you feel."

If she went in with red eyes and a blotchy face, he'd know that she had been crying. He'd be quietly understanding, not pushing her to talk, but being supportive and attentive while listening if she did speak. She knew it killed him to have her so close yet so far, killed him by inches and a thousand tiny cuts, but she didn't know how else they could be. He wouldn't push and she couldn't give.

Or could she? Taking a long look at herself in the visor mirror, Sarah found herself pulling out the handful of makeup remover wipes from her bag and quickly wiping away her smeared makeup. She still showed all the signs of crying, but her face was clean now. Maybe it would be enough, a way to meet Chuck halfway.

So Sarah Walker slowly stepped out of her car and walked towards the apartment she shared with the man who might not be just a husband in name only.

XXX

When she stepped inside, Sarah's nose wrinkled at the acrid odor. Her eyes teared from the hazy smoke hanging in the air. It seemed like there had been a fire—

"Chuck!" she cried out, her fear and worry coalescing into a single, six-foot-four point.

To her immense relief, Chuck came down the hall, holding several towels and looking frazzled and sheepish. "I'm okay, everything's okay! Just a small cooking mishap."

She watched as he went into the kitchen and started spreading the towels on the floor, then went to each window and began opening them. Sarah followed his lead, pushing open the floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room and turning on the overhead fan in the kitchen. Within a few moments, the smoke had cleared enough for Sarah to take in what had happened.

What could only be described as a blackened corpse sat in a roasting pan. A singed pot holder rested by the pan, and the sprayer hose had been pulled free from the sink and rested on the counter. The towels on the floor were wet from the water they had soaked up and the smoke detector was dangling from the ceiling.

"What happened?" she asked, taking in the damage.

It shouldn't have been possible, but she could see Chuck shrink as he spoke. "I—I was going to make chicken pepperoni tonight, but after I put it into the oven I sat on the couch and … and I fell asleep. I've been doing so much work, burning the midnight oil—and wow, that's a bad and unfortunate choice of words right now—and I just couldn't keep my eyes open. The next thing I know, the fire alarm is beeping and there's smoke filling the apartment. I pull out the chicken, but it's so hot the pot holder catches fire a little, and when I grabbed the sprayer to put out the fire, I pulled on it so hard that it came clean out, and there was water everywhere and fire and I had to shut off the valve to the sink and get towels and …"

He looked down at himself, at his wet jeans and t-shirt (a more casual look than he normally wore, at least for during the week) and the slump of his shoulders spoke volumes. And Sarah found her heart going out to this man who felt everything so deeply, who let his emotions be his guide even when it might (or, more correctly, when it had) hurt him, yet normally kept his feelings to himself because it might make her uncomfortable.

And suddenly, she hated that. It was on the tip of her tongue to let all this out, to tell him that she didn't want him to hold back anymore, that she wanted him to be Chuck again, the Chuck she remembered who smiled with his whole body instead of his little closed-lip smiles. But that wasn't Sarah Walker and she wasn't ready (just yet) to be Sarah Bartowski.

So instead, she spoke softly. "It's okay, Chuck. Really." She hoped she could find the right words to inject some levity into the situation, even as the strange phrase "not funny or a cannibal" drifted into her mind. "I always make a mess in the kitchen, you know."

He glumly shook his head. "Not like this."

"Well, no … but after all, I bet it wouldn't have taken you two dozen eggs to learn how to make an omelet," Sarah said, taking a step towards him even as she boggled at volunteering such an embarrassing detail about herself to him.

She could see his forehead wrinkle for a moment before suddenly smoothing, his shoulders straightening a little. "You—you needed two dozen eggs?"

Sarah nodded, feeling her heart flutter. "I can remember learning how to cook omelets, but—but I don't know why I learned, but I knew I made an omelet for you. At least once."

Chuck gazed at her, his eyes getting that far-off look that told her she had hit upon another one of his sweetly painful memories of them. But then he looked at her and smiled softly. "We were going undercover at a house in the suburbs, and the first morning I came downstairs and you had cooked me breakfast. It … it wasn't what I was expecting."

She shouldn't feel crushed that she had cooked for him as part of a mission. But she did, because had she never shown him or done anything for him that couldn't be brushed aside as being "part of the cover"? Sarah swallowed. "But—but you liked the omelet?"

He looked at her curiously for a moment, then gave a small nod. "I did. It … it was very sweet of you. Almost normal. Like something a girlfriend would do for an actual boyfriend."

And just like that, Sarah's heart soared—that silly, impossible metaphor was the only explanation for how she felt. Because it wasn't about the cover or the mission. She had wanted to make Chuck breakfast because she wanted to do so. Sarah had wanted to cook for Chuck, so she had learned how and did it. And he had known it was about Sarah and Chuck, not Agent Walker and Mr. Bartowski.

The memory of cooking an omelet for him wasn't enough to make her want to get in the kitchen and start cooking. But knowing why she had done it, knowing that he had noticed that it was more than about the cover … that made her want to find a cookbook and start trying recipes, looking for more things to cook Chuck. Because he was so skinny and she wanted to at least feed his physical hunger, since feeding his emotional hunger was something that she didn't know if she could do without making things a hundred times worse. And it was the least feminist thing in the world, especially when Chuck and she had never really followed the traditional gender roles, but … but Sarah knew one way she could start giving to Chuck.

But all that would have to wait until the kitchen could be repaired, a major task that would take a while. So Sarah took a deep breath and looked at him. "Why don't we go out to dinner tonight? Leave the mess until later?"

She could see him hesitate and she suddenly remembered how tidy Chuck was, how he hated going to bed if there was even one mug left to be washed in the sink. She was ready to modify the offer to sharing the clean-up while they waited for a pizza to be delivered, only for Chuck (yet again) to surprise her.

"God, that sounds perfect," he said, the relief evident in his voice. "I need to get away from the scene of the crime for a while."

Sarah found herself smiling, wishing that she could have done that for him.

"Let me change and I'll be ready to go," he said, already heading down the hall towards his (the former guest) bedroom. "Be right back!"

"Okay!" she called out, watching him go before she turned to assess the kitchen. It was a mess, but somehow she knew that if they worked together, they could fix it.

The Chicken Pepperoni catastrophe had distracted him from her appearance, for the time being. But once they were sitting in a restaurant and he was focused on her, she knew he'd notice. But now, it didn't seem so scary to tell him that she'd had a bad day. Because he'd do everything he could to make her feel better.

And by the end of their dinner (which wasn't a date, not at all, because he'd never ask her out now and her offer of dinner had come out so naturally that it wasn't until they were sitting down that she realized this could be a date and got nervous) she had managed to share a little about her own bad day. He even laughed a little, something that made Sarah feel less nervous, before they started talking about full moons and Friday the 13ths and other examples of bad luck.

And as they talked and shared massive portions of Italian food, Sarah saw that her therapist was right. There were lots of ways to show her husband she was falling for him. The only question was whether he'd realize what she was doing. She hoped that he'd use that amazingly complex brain of his to figure out what she was doing.

But if he didn't, she could always just ask him out. Because if there was anyone who deserved to know how his wife felt about him, it was Chuck Bartowski.


	21. Candy

**Slices ****of ****Life**

**Author**: dettiot

**Rating**: T

**Summary**: A collection of ficlets, based off prompts received at my Tumblr.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Chuck_. No copyright infringement is intended.

XXX

**Candy**

Set in the future.

Written for katastropi.

"Chuck and Sarah eating candy."

XXX

It's their first real Valentine's Day after Sarah lost her memories (Chuck doesn't count the one that happened two weeks after their conversation on the beach, because he very purposefully ignored the holiday when it came around because it hurt too much and he didn't want to make Sarah feel bad). So Chuck is determined to make this Valentine's Day special. There's no mission that could interrupt them, Morgan has Alex to pamper tonight, and it's going to be just him and Sarah.

But when he walks into their apartment, carrying a huge bouquet of gardenias and an all-he-could-afford box of French truffles, he finds his wife sitting on the couch with tear-stained cheeks and a huge bag of his favorite candy.

"Sarah?!" he asks, immediately setting down his presents and walking over to the couch. "What's wrong?"

She sniffed a little as he sat down next to her and stroked her cheek. "I—I got the wrong candy."

Chuck looked down at the frankly enormous bag, the clear plastic displaying dozens of Milk Dud boxes. "But, Sarah, Milk Duds are my favorites."

"I thought you liked Mike & Ike's best," she said sadly. "I bought you so many, and then Morgan saw me and said—"

"Oh, Sarah, baby," he said, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close. "Shhhh, baby."

Sarah held on to him so tightly, he almost felt his ribs crack. This seemed like a really big over-reaction and he didn't quite know what to make of it, so he just held her and stroked her hair and back, hoping he was giving her what she needed.

It took several moments, but soon her grip loosened on him. "I wanted tonight to be perfect," she whispered.

He was ready to tell her that she didn't have to do anything for it to be perfect, but instead, he said quietly, "I wanted that, too. To give you the perfect, romantic evening. The Valentine's Day we've never had."

Sarah lifted her face and gazed at him. She managed a tiny smile. "At least there's no mission?"

Chuck grinned at her. "Yes, exactly." He kissed her cheek. "What happened to the Mike & Ike's? Or do I even need to ask?"

"Morgan was very happy to take them off my hands," Sarah said, a bit primly but with a wide smile.

"It's not a hardship on him," Chuck said, kissing her cheek and then getting up. He brought over the flowers and candy and held them out to her. "Happy Valentine's Day, Sarah."

She took the flowers and sniffed them appreciatively, her eyes closing. "Mmmm. Thank you, Chuck." She looked up at him, her eyes soft and happy. Seeing her look at him like that made his heart leap just like it had the first time, all those years ago, just like it had six months ago when she did it for the first time as she regained her memories.

He smiled back softly at her and sunk down into the couch next to her. "I had dinner reservations, but …"

"But I'd rather stay home." Sarah's voice was soft and sweet. She rested her head on his shoulder. "We could have candy for dinner."

Chuck laughed. "Miss Always-Eats-Her-Vegetables wants to eat like a nerd tonight? I love it."

She gave him a mock-glare. "If it wasn't for me, you'd have scurvy."

"Nuh-huh, not with how I like orange juice," he said, kissing her lightly and smiling against her lips. Then he tugged the bag of Milk Duds out of her lap and tore open one of the boxes. He tilted the box over his mouth, catching half-a-dozen of the chewy chocolate-covered caramels in his mouth.

Sarah shook her head. "How can I kiss you if your teeth are glued together?"

It took him a few moments to chew enough to reply to her. "You're Sarah Walker Bartowski. You'll find a way." He gave her a closed-lip grin, in order to hide the candy wrapped around his teeth.

Sarah giggled and cuddled in against him. She opened up her box of truffles and nibbled on one slowly. "Mmmm. And Chuck Bartowski always finds a way to make me happy."

"Always," he said softly and simply.

In the years to come, they would probably have fancier, more "romantic" Valentine's Day celebrations. But Chuck thought that he would always remember the first one that he got to spend with Sarah, without interruptions or distractions. The Valentine's Day when it was just the two of them eating candy together, the scent of gardenias in the air and the warmth of his wife against his side.

After an hour of candy and quiet conversation, he saw Sarah frown a little and rub her stomach. "Ooh. Eating just candy sounded like a good idea …"

He grinned. "Awww, you're not used to it." He reached over and gently stroked her stomach in small circles. Then he frowned. Her stomach felt … different.

Chuck looked at Sarah, who was gazing at him with so much love and happiness in her eyes that he felt stunned for a moment. Then he shook his head. "Sarah, are you okay?"

"I'm—I'm more than okay," she said softly. She hesitated, biting her lower lip before she spoke. "We both are."

"Yeah, you and me are—" Chuck stopped and blinked. She—she couldn't mean—

Her smile was big and bright and it was blinding him. "I'm pregnant, Chuck."

And as he hugged his wife so hard that he might just have cracked one of her ribs (and he really hoped he hadn't because that would make her even more uncomfortable with being pregnant and oh my God Sarah was pregnant!) Chuck knew that he would never forget this Valentine's Day.


	22. Fatherhood

**Slices ****of ****Life**

**Author**: dettiot

**Rating**: T

**Summary**: A collection of ficlets, based off prompts received at my Tumblr.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Chuck_. No copyright infringement is intended.

XXX

**Fatherhood**

Set in the future.

Written for marupaix.

"when Willow came into the world."

XXX

Chuck was sure he was leaving smudge marks all over the nice big window that looked into the nursery, but right now he didn't care very much. Because he was determined to see every move his daughter made.

His daughter! He was a dad now!

It was the most amazing feeling in the world, to have Willow here after so many months of waiting. Seeing Sarah's face when she held their daughter, knowing they would be going home later today and beginning the next chapter in his life—in their lives.

Chuck grinned widely as he watched Willow open her eyes. Her eyes were big and blue right now, and he hoped that they would stay that way, that she'd have Sarah's eyes. But Ellie had cautioned him that it was much more likely that Willow's eyes would turn brown, and Sarah herself had said she hoped Willow would have his eyes.

Watching his daughter, all Chuck could think about was everything there was to look forward to with Willow. Seeing her grow and develop, teaching her how to tie her shoes and play video games, helping her find herself and know right from wrong and be the strong, smart, beautiful woman he hoped she'd become someday and and and …

And now he was hyperventilating a little. Okay, a lot.

An elbow in the ribs made him gasp and catch his breath. He looked up and saw Casey.

Once he could breathe regularly again, he blinked at Casey in surprise and confusion. "What?"

"Ease up on the worryin', Bartowski. You got time."

"But, but, so much of her future is set within the first six weeks of life! That's what all the books say—"

"Books don't always get it right," Casey interrupted.

"Easy for you to say," Chuck said grumpily, rubbing his ribs. "You didn't know you had a daughter until she was twenty-seven."

"Yeah, well, you don't wanna miss out on what your kid's doin' now because you're worryin' about teaching her how to drive or somethin'."

Chuck blew out a breath and nodded. "Yeah. Hey, it's great to see you, Casey. Thanks for coming."

Casey grunted. "Gertrude threw a fit, but I wanted to be here."

It was tempting to tease Casey about his relationship with Gertrude, but Chuck resisted it. So he just smiled and pointed towards Willow's crib inside the nursery. "See? There she is."

Casey nodded. "Let's hope she looks like Walker."

"I hope so, too," Chuck said with a grin.

The older man snorted softly, then pulled a box out from under his arm. "Have a cigar."

Even though Chuck didn't smoke, especially not cigars, he appreciated the gesture from Casey. As he took one, he tilted his head. "Isn't this the box of pre-revolution cigars that Alejandro Goya gave you, after the first Costa Gravas mission?"

Casey nodded. "Best cigars in my collection. And since I worked that mission with you and Walker, it seemed fitting."

"Thank you, Casey," Chuck said, feeling touched. He slid the cigar into the back pocket of his jeans. "It should be feeding time soon. You want to see Sarah first before meeting your goddaughter?"

To Chuck's amusement, Casey did a double-take. "Goddaughter?"

"Yeah, goddaughter," Chuck said, turning to face Casey. "Neither Sarah or I are religious, so being Willow's godfather isn't about religion. We just want to make sure that if anything happened to us, not that anything's gonna happen if we have any say in it, but I'm neurotic and Sarah likes to be prepared—we want to know that Willow will be protected. Ellie and Devon have already agreed to be Willow's guardians if necessary, but … but we want you to be her godfather." Chuck paused. "Her protector."

It was a lot to ask of Casey, Chuck knew. He and Sarah had talked it over extensively when the idea came to them. But they both wanted Casey to know how important he was to them. And to Chuck's mind, asking John Casey to protect his daughter was the highest mark of respect and loyalty.

Happily, Casey seemed to understand that, because after he half-grunted, half-cleared his throat, he nodded. "Yeah, okay."

Chuck smiled widely. "To quote Devon, awesome."

"Let's go see Walker," Casey said, rolling his eyes.

As they walked through the halls towards Sarah's hospital room, Chuck felt like his life had come full circle. When he had met Casey and Sarah, they were three separate people. Over the years, thanks to hours of conversations and days of work, they had become a family. Not a conventional family, he knew, but one that had bonds of love and trust and friendship.

Family was what you made it. And on the day that his daughter became part of that family, Chuck found himself giving thanks for all the people he called family. Ellie and Devon. Morgan. Alex. Casey. And most of all, Sarah and Willow.

Becoming a father was already one of the best experiences of his life. But he wouldn't feel so ready to do this if it hadn't been for the example the rest of his family had set for him. And he was ready for his family to meet his daughter.


	23. Cold

**Slices ****of ****Life**

**Author**: dettiot

**Rating**: T

**Summary**: A collection of ficlets, based off prompts received at my Tumblr.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Chuck_. No copyright infringement is intended.

XXX

**Cold**

Set mid-season 3, after _Chuck __vs. __the __Beard_.

Written for hotski.

"I'd like to see a fic where Chuck is sick and Sarah takes care of him."

XXX

A loud, hacking cough broke the quiet in Castle and drew Sarah's attention from the files she was reviewing. The sight of a pale Chuck made her rise to her feet. "You don't look so good," she said, helping him into a chair.

Chuck sniffed. "I'm okay. Just have a bit of a cold." Then he let out a cataclysmically large sneeze, his head snapping back from the force of the sneeze.

"A bit of a cold?" she asked dryly, raising an eyebrow.

She shouldn't be worrying about him. He was a grown man. And if he wanted to be a spy like he said he did, then he was perfectly capable of taking care of himself. Besides, as soon as he walked in the door, Ellie would be sure to wrap him up in blankets and make him soup and do all the things that someone does when the person they care about is sick.

He drew a handkerchief out of the pocket of his pants and wiped his nose. "Okay, it's a full-blown cold. But it's the busiest time of the year at the Buy More, and with Shaw in D.C., we're short a man. At least I can flash now."

"Chuck, if you flash in this condition, your brain would explode," Sarah said tartly. "Just—just go home. Feel better soon."

He looked at her and set his jaw, showing a rare glimpse of his stubborn side. "I'm fine." He coughed again, his shoulders hunching over.

"I'm sure Ellie could fix you up," Sarah pointed out, her voice softening a little. It was hard to stay professional in the face of Chuck's illness. She'd done her best to treat him like any other coworker, even when her natural instinct to protect him and support him kept flaring up. But after all, they had worked together for over two years now—it was understandable that she'd take his side on issues like keeping Morgan out of a bunker.

"Ellie and Devon are at a medical conference this week," Chuck said nasally.

"Oh," Sarah said.

He gestured towards the stack of folders in front of her. "C'mon. Let's get to work."

With a sigh, Sarah stood up. "No. I'm taking you home. You need to rest, because Shaw's talking about making a final assault on the Ring and we need you to be a hundred percent. Besides …" She paused for a moment. "I'm sure I can heat up some soup or do whatever you need to start feeling better." She gave him a small smile, trying to act like her offer was no big deal.

He sniffed again, his eyes looking dazed and grateful. "I wouldn't want you to get sick …"

"I don't get sick," Sarah said, picking up some files and sliding them into her bag. "Let's go."

XXX

Chuck's cold was even worse than he was letting on, Sarah suspected. He'd dropped into a fitful doze on the drive back to Echo Park and he'd been slow to wake up once they arrived. Sarah bit her lip as she guided him towards his bedroom. She had hoped some extra rest would be enough to help him kick this illness, but she was starting to doubt that.

"Here you go," Sarah said, helping him lay down. She lightly touched his forehead, somewhat relieved that he didn't feel feverish.

"Hmph," Chuck muttered, shifting around on top of the covers. His eyelids drooped, and Sarah moved to untie and pull off his Converses before turning to loosen his tie.

The touch of her fingers must have surprised him, because his eyes widened. "W-what are you doing?" he asked, sounding confused.

"Oh, I was just …" Undressing you. Sarah frowned and stepped back. "Do you need anything?"

Chuck shook his head, lifting himself up enough to get under the covers. "I'm just gonna sleep." He looked up at her. "Thank you, Sarah."

She swallowed. The sight of him with the covers pulled up to his chin, his eyes watery and his face pale … he was the living embodiment of defenseless right now. And even though she knew he wasn't defenseless, that he had proved he was perfectly capable of destroying her heart, it was getting harder to remember that. Harder to not forgive him for what he had done in Prague, now that she knew why he had done it. Of course she wished he had just told her what he was feeling and thinking, but more than anyone she understood how hard it was to let someone in.

"You're welcome, Chuck," she said softly. "I—I'll just be in the living room, if you need anything."

He nodded, already starting to fall asleep. "Bein' my knight in shining armor …"

Sarah couldn't help a small smile at his muttered words. "Does that make you a damsel in distress?" she couldn't help asking.

Chuck opened his eyes long enough to give her a weak grin, then he gave up the fight against sleep.

As she gazed down at him, Sarah considered Chuck's words. It was sweet and very Chuck to cast himself as the weak one, comparing himself to her and finding himself lacking. It was true that when she came into his life, she was the one protecting him, saving him from anyone that threatened him. But now?

Now it wasn't so clear. Now she would have a hard time seeing him as the weak one, not with how she felt about Prague. Since then, she'd fought so hard against her feelings, yet she couldn't seem to tamp them down and see him as just another agent. And honestly, he wasn't just another agent. He was coming into his own as a spy, seeing that he didn't start and end with the Intersect. Chuck Bartowski could be a very good spy and Sarah didn't know how she felt about that. She just knew that her feelings for the man in front of her hadn't gone away in spite of her efforts.

Although she was tempted to stay in his room and watch him sleep, Sarah straightened her shoulders and walked out of his bedroom, leaving his door ajar. There was plenty of paperwork to keep her busy, he deserved his privacy, and … and if she stayed she might find herself thinking more about knights and damsels and confessions and emotions.

XXX

It was past five o'clock when Chuck shuffled into the kitchen. Instead of his Nerd Herd uniform, he was now wearing a t-shirt and pajama pants. He opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of orange juice, nodding to her. "Hey."

His color was a lot better and he sounded less nasal. Sarah felt her spirits rise. "Hey. You look better."

"Better than death warmed over?" he asked with a lopsided smile before pouring himself a glass of juice.

Sarah returned his smile, pushing aside the files she had been trying to read. She hadn't been as successful at ignoring her thoughts as she would have liked, so she hadn't gotten much done. But this paperwork was more busywork than anything else.

Chuck looked at the pot on the stove and lifted the lid. He took a deep sniff, then looked over at her. "This is a lot more than warming up some soup."

She could feel her cheeks flush, but she tried to be nonchalant. "It's still a can of soup—I just added a few things to make it a little better." That really was all she had done: taken advantage of Ellie's large spice rack to make the chicken noodle soup more interesting. It wasn't that special.

"It smells great," he said, setting the lid down and turning to face her. "Especially since I can smell it."

"Would you like to have some?" she asked, standing up and stepping into the kitchen.

"I can do it," he said, even as he moved out of her way when she approached the stove.

"Go take a seat. I've got this," she said, glancing up at him. He clearly had been sick, but up close he looked a lot better than he had earlier.

Chuck smiled a little and headed over to the table. When she brought the bowls of soup over, he was looking over the paperwork she had been reviewing.

"Careful. You're probably still too weak to flash," she said without thinking. Then she wanted to kick herself. Why did she keep letting herself care about him? Even though he didn't need her to protect him and she didn't think she could risk her heart again on Chuck Bartowski?

He looked up at her, then quietly closed the file folders and pushed them aside. "Have you heard from Shaw?"

Sarah took a small sip of her soup, stalling for time. "Not in the last few days," she said. She knew that Chuck thought she was dating Shaw. Thought that their relationship was serious. But it wasn't. It wasn't that different from what she had with Bryce: two people who worked together and spent time together. Not like what she once had with Chuck. Not like what she had with him now, even after everything that had happened.

His face was slightly confused, but he just nodded and ate his soup slowly. Although it burned her tongue, Sarah focused on spooning the food into her mouth, wanting to end this uncomfortable encounter. Yet in the silence that was broken only by the clink of spoons against bowls, things felt oddly … relaxed.

It was too confusing for Sarah. Leaving her bowl half-full, she got up and started gathering her papers. "I need to get back to Castle."

If he was surprised by her actions, he didn't reveal it. "Okay," he said, standing up and following her to the front door.

She looked up at him. "Take it easy, okay?"

With a smile, he nodded. "I will. I'm just going to finish my soup and go back to bed, I think."

"Good," she said softly, holding the files to her chest. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you then," he said, then suddenly he reached out and rested his hand on her shoulder. "And, really, Sarah—thank you."

Ever since Prague, Chuck had been careful about touching her. She hadn't realized what feeling his fingers on the skin revealed by her Orange Orange tank would do to her. It had been so long and in spite of everything she told herself, she missed him.

But she couldn't give in to him. Not here, not like this. So she took a small step back. "It was nothing," she said, giving him her best friendly smile. Then she turned on her heel and walked out.

As she headed to her car, Sarah Walker found herself sniffing a little. But she was pretty sure it wasn't because she was coming down with Chuck's cold.


	24. Snoring

**Slices ****of ****Life**

**Author**: dettiot

**Rating**: T

**Summary**: A collection of ficlets, based off prompts received at my Tumblr.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Chuck_. No copyright infringement is intended.

XXX

**Snoring**

Set in the future.

Written for demorgans.

"Fic prompt: Sarah snores."

XXX

Being pregnant meant a whole host of unanticipated changes to the body of Sarah Walker Bartowski. Before she got pregnant, she knew that of course her stomach would swell and her breasts would probably get bigger. Being around Ellie before Clara was born had instructed Sarah in stretch marks and not-just-in-the-morning sickness. But when it came to carrying a baby, Sarah discovered that every woman's experience was a little different.

She started showing late. She only got sick in the morning. Those changes, she didn't mind. But the day in her fifth month when she realized that none of her shoes fit because her feet were too swollen, she had sat in the middle of their bed and cried.

Poor Chuck hadn't really understood. "But, Sarah, you had said you were planning to stop wearing heels anyway …"

"B-b-but now I can't wear anything!" she sobbed, crying like she had when she thought Chuck was getting his mind wiped in Thailand. And that memory, one she had only recently remembered, just made her cry harder: tears rolling down her cheeks, gulping for breath, feeling lost and alone and scared. Because even after all these years of learning to loosen her control, she was now in a situation where she had absolutely no power.

Her body was about the baby now, and Chuck just couldn't understand that. Although he had read every single pregnancy manual there was, he was a man and he didn't have the baby inside him, making his whole body feel strange and foreign and different. He knew her body was changing but he didn't understand what it felt like.

And even though the logical part of her pointed out that having the Intersect might make him more qualified than any other man to understand what she was going through, she just couldn't get those words out. Not with the wave of emotions she was feeling, not when she felt so out of control.

Somehow, though, Chuck had figured out what she needed and called Ellie. And after she had finished a long talk with Chuck's sister, and Ellie told her that it was okay to feel alone and scared and lost but to remember that she wasn't alone, Sarah had gone to Chuck and curled up in his arms.

"I'm sorry," she had whispered.

"There's nothing for you to be sorry about," he had said, stroking her hair slowly. And something about being in his arms and knowing how much he cared, combined with her talk with Ellie, helped Sarah to begin sharing her fears.

XXX

Over the next two months, she had slowly moved from fear to excitement. Chuck had encouraged her to make contact with her mother, so Sarah had started calling Emma every week or so. Their conversations had been a bit stilted at first, complicated by Sarah's memory loss, but in every phone call there had been some nugget of wisdom or some happy story that made Sarah want to keep calling.

Thanks to her mother and Ellie, Sarah found herself enjoying her pregnancy. It helped that Chuck was so excited and happy and supportive. And that Morgan was already making plans to be the best honorary uncle in the world. And that Alex had made sure there was always chocolate in the Bartowski apartment. And that Casey had sent her a gruff text saying he'd be there with the cigars once the baby was born.

But best of all, she stopped seeing the changes as scary. As something to be feared. They were just part of the process. It wasn't that different from the calluses that had built up on her hands as she learned how to use a gun, calluses that would never go away. The changes that pregnancy had caused were just more extreme.

So as she neared her eighth month of pregnancy, she thought she had come to grips with the physical changes that pregnancy had caused. When she rolled over one morning and saw that Chuck was watching her, a small smile on his face, she couldn't help smiling back.

"Hey," she said, stretching a little as she assessed how she felt.

"Good morning, baby," he said, leaning over to kiss her softly.

She kissed him back, savoring the warmth that he created inside her. "Mmm …" she hummed against his lips as she cuddled in against him.

Chuck stroked her hair. "How are you feeling today?"

"Not bad," she said. "Which is a good thing, because I have a doctor's appointment today and then lunch with Alex."

"I'm sorry I can't go to the appointment with you, Sarah," Chuck said, frowning a little.

"Shhh," she said, stroking his cheek. "You have to meet with those clients today. And Alex will be with me. I'll be fine."

He nodded, still looking a bit worried. Sarah leaned in and kissed his cheek. "What were you doing while I was sleeping?"

A grin broke out on his face. "Listening to you sleep."

"Listening?" Sarah asked, feeling confused.

If possible, his grin got even bigger. "You snore now."

Sarah sat up. "What? I don't snore!"

Chuck, her loving, supportive husband, laughed loudly. "I'm sorry, Sarah, but you do. Dainty, deep little snores. Like a baby buzzsaw."

With a pout, she folded her arms over her chest. And maybe it was slightly calculated, a way to keep Chuck from worrying by pretending to be more miffed than she actually was. But she was still embarrassed. She'd never snored before. It looked like there was yet another change that having a baby had caused in her.

"Awww, baby …" Chuck sat up and wrapped his arms around her. "It's okay. It was cute, really. And it wasn't like you woke me up or anything."

She curled in against him. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. I promise," he said, his brown eyes warm and soft. "Tonight, we'll put an extra pillow behind you and see if that helps. And hey, clearly it's a baby-related issue and that means it's temporary."

If she wasn't already completely in love with Chuck, this might do it. Because something she found embarrassing, something that she was sure made her less attractive, he thought was cute and also offered a way to fix the problem, even though he didn't see it as a problem.

And somehow, snoring as a symptom of her pregnancy didn't seem so bad as snoring during her normal sleep routine. Because her body was supposed to be different now that she was having a baby. As long as Chuck didn't mind her snoring, Sarah thought she might not feel that embarrassed about it.

Although she definitely hoped Chuck was right and she wouldn't keep snoring after the baby was born. Because after the baby came, she was determined that there would be other noises coming from their bedroom. Ones that had nothing to do with a baby. Well, maybe only with making one.


	25. Cravings

**Slices ****of ****Life**

**Author**: dettiot

**Rating**: T

**Summary**: A collection of ficlets, based off prompts received at my Tumblr.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Chuck_. No copyright infringement is intended.

XXX

**Cravings**

Set in the future.

Written for hotski.

"I'd like to see Charah going to Mc Donalds when Sarah is pregnant and grumpy."

XXX

Chuck did a double-take. "You want what?"

"I don't understand it, either," Sarah said, her voice frustrated and annoyed. "But I really, really want an apple pie from McDonald's. And French fries."

Chuck blinked. If there was one thing that hadn't changed in Sarah from before and after her memory loss, it was her disdain for McDonald's. He had never understood just why she hated the Golden Arches so much, but he had accepted it and kept to himself when he had hit up the fast-food chain for an occasional chocolate milkshake.

"Okay, okay, we can do that. We can totally do that," Chuck said, swinging the car around and heading towards the McDonald's he had just passed. "I guess the baby wants what the baby wants, huh?"

Sarah frowned. "I thought I'd want things like pickles and ice cream. At least they have some redeeming characteristics, even the ice cream. Nobody told me I'd want deep-fried, preservative-laden junk food."

Now in her fourth month of pregnancy, Sarah's moods varied wildly. Chuck had learned to tread lightly, although he was hoping that since her morning sickness seemed to be ending, Sarah would start feeling more comfortable with being pregnant. Today's grumpiness was out-of-the-ordinary, though.

He joined the long line of cars waiting in the drive-through lane. Taking advantage of the situation, he reached out and took her hand. "Is there anything else going on that's bothering you?"

Sarah looked at him and bit her lower lip. "I know I've been bitchy today … I'm sorry."

"It's okay, baby," he said, squeezing her hand.

"No, it's not," she said, shifting in her seat to face him. "The McDonald's thing is the straw that breaks the camel's back."

"Why do you hate it so much?" he asked, without really thinking his question through.

Sarah stayed silent for a long moment, long enough for him to wonder if he should take back the question. Then she blew out a breath. "When I was eleven, a con went bad and my dad left me at a McDonald's. And he didn't come back until the next day."

"What?!" Chuck said, looking at his wife. "He really did that?"

She nodded. "I stayed there all day, taking bits and pieces of food," she said, looking embarrassed. "I … I actually stole a Happy Meal from a little boy, because I was so hungry. And then, that night, I hid in the ball pit in the play area and slept there."

"Baby …" Chuck said, running a hand through her hair. Sarah had never really opened up about how exactly life with her father had been. He really, really hoped this was a rock-bottom moment.

It took Sarah a moment to come out of the memories, then she sighed and leaned into his hand a little. "It was awful. And after that, I vowed to only go to McDonald's if it was truly the only option other than going hungry more than eight hours. And I've kept that promise." She looked at him hesitantly. "After that, my dad stopped doing dangerous cons until I was nearly eighteen."

Chuck leaned in and kissed her softly. "I'm sorry, baby," he said softly against her lips.

She wrapped her arms around him, not moving until the car behind them in line honked their horn because they hadn't moved up. She pulled away and wiped her hand over her face. "Thanks, Chuck. I—I'll be okay."

He nodded as he moved the car up, bringing them nearly to the speaker. He considered his words, then spoke in a casual tone of voice. "You know … we could just go home and make our own fries and apple pie."

"Really?" she asked softly and hesitantly. "You … you'd help me do that?"

In answer to her question, Chuck swung the car out of the drive-through and headed towards the supermarket at the far end of the strip mall complex.

And although he had no idea how to make an apple pie or homemade French fries, Sarah's relieved smile told him that just attempting to learn was more than enough for her.


	26. Nicknames

**Slices ****of ****Life**

**Author**: dettiot

**Rating**: T

**Summary**: A collection of ficlets, based off prompts received at my Tumblr.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Chuck_. No copyright infringement is intended.

XXX

**Nicknames**

Set late season 4.

Written for aerox2109.

"Double date night, Morgan/Alex - Chuck/Sarah. First time that Chuck/Sarah hear the pet names that Alex and Morgan have chosen for each other. Awkwardness ensues."

XXX

Chuck slid into the passenger seat of the leased Porsche that Sarah had gotten after her car was blown up during the mission with the CAT Squad. He made sure to buckle his seatbelt, then rested his hands on his knees.

Sarah got behind the wheel but didn't make any movements to start the car. Instead, she looked like she was thinking something over.

The slightly-awkward silence stretched out until finally Chuck had to say something. "So … um, I thought a double date with us and Morgan and Alex would be less …"

"Uncomfortable?" Sarah suggested, looking at him with a quirked eyebrow and a small smile.

Chuck nodded. "Oh, yeah. I mean, I've had quite a few double dates with Morgan over the years, and while this one doesn't approach the Lucy Jacobs disaster of 1998, it's pretty close."

"What happened then?" Sarah asked, turning as much as she could within the confines of the Porsche in order to look at him.

"Let's just say you should never eat three kimchee burritos after a day at Knott's Berry Farm."

Sarah wrinkled her nose. "Enough said. Although tonight was pretty nauseating, too."

"Worse than Korean-Mexican?" Chuck shrugged. "I don't think so. I mean, yeah, it was a little … awkward."

His fiancee's eyebrows raised more. "We sat through a whole dinner of pet names and goo-goo eyes. They call each other Milk Dud and Sugar Baby." Sarah's voice was flat.

"He said it's because they talked about their favorite movie snacks and they both like chocolate-covered caramel candies but they like different ones, so they thought it was funny," Chuck explained.

"I know. They mentioned that story more than once," she said, taking out her keys and starting the car, her body tense.

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye as she started driving towards Echo Park. The silence that fell this time was tense, loaded with unspoken questions and withheld sentences.

They were nearly home before Sarah spoke. "They … they seem really happy."

"Yeah, they do," Chuck said quietly. "I'm glad for Morgan. And Alex, too."

Sarah nodded. "Do you … do you wish we had been like that? That we just met like normal people and got that honeymoon stage? With nicknames and arguing over who should hang up the phone first?"

"What?" he said incredulously. "You don't think we had a honeymoon stage?"

"By the time we started dating, we had known each other for nearly three years," Sarah said, pulling into a parking spot by their apartment. "We knew so much about each other."

"But, but, there was so much we didn't know!" Chuck said, grabbing Sarah's hand and refusing to let her leave the car. "And, hey, how about the train through France?" he pointed out. "We weren't exactly acting like a staid, boring couple then."

Her face went pink. "That … that's very true." She looked at him, then gave him a small smile. "I did say the word 'oopsie'."

"In an adorable Texas accent, no less," Chuck said, grinning widely. "If we hadn't been on a mission, I would have fallen over laughing."

She smiled at him, her body relaxing. "I had a hard time not laughing, too."

Chuck brushed her hair back. "How we got together, I wouldn't change it for anything, baby."

"You call me 'baby' sometimes," she said softly. "I … I like that."

He let his fingers stroke along her jaw lightly, then cupped her face in one hand. "Yeah?"

Sarah nodded, sliding her arm around his neck and pulling him in for a soft kiss. Chuck kissed her back, smiling against her lips. But when she gave his lower lip a soft nip, he groaned softly. "Sarah …"

Pulling back from him, Sarah's eyes sparkled. "Race you to the bed."

"You're on!" he said, flinging off his seatbelt and throwing open the door to the Porsche. He was going to do his best to win the race, but at least he knew that even if he lost, he had still won.


	27. Barstow

**Slices ****of ****Life**

**Author**: dettiot

**Rating**: T

**Summary**: A collection of ficlets, based off prompts received at my Tumblr.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Chuck_. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Author****'****s ****Note**: Did you know that I started a new fic? Check out _**Ready at Your Hand** _by hitting up my profile!

XXX

**Barstow**

Set mid-season 5.

Written for anonymous.

"A trip back to Barstow."

XXX

Sarah looked over at her husband as she drove. This beater didn't have much power, but they needed to be inconspicuous. After a day, it was clear that they needed to leave his father's cabin and find someplace else to hide from Cummings and her men.

And Chuck's anxiety about becoming like his father, that there was a Bartowski curse, had increased exponentially. He was less than an arm's breadth away from her in the passenger seat, but his mind was a million miles away.

When Chuck got quiet, that was when Sarah really worried. He was a talker by nature, especially when he was stressed or nervous or upset. There had only been a handful of times in the five years that she had known him when she had seen him go into this deep, self-absorbed brooding.

She returned her eyes to the road, her hands holding the wheel firmly as she turned off the highway at the Barstow exit. Just seeing the town name was enough to stir memories of that morning, the one when she knew that there was no one for her but Chuck.

Once they were off the highway, she found the first non-chain motel and pulled into the parking lot. With the car stopped, she turned to look at him.

"Chuck?" She spoke softly, keeping her voice gentle.

He started a little and looked around, clearly surprised. "Where are we?"

"Barstow," she said, watching his face to see how he would react.

To her relief, his wrinkled forehead smoothed out and a small smile formed on his face. "Barstow, huh?"

She reached out and took his hand, giving it a squeeze. "It worked for us before."

Chuck laced his fingers through hers. "Yeah, it did."

The feel of his hand in hers made Sarah's hopes rise. Soon, this would be over. They could go home. But tonight, they would spend the night in the town where their relationship had irrevocably changed.

"I'll get us a room," she said softly.

He nodded and opened the glove box of the car. He handed her a wad of cash from the emergency kit she had taken from Castle when they went on the run.

Having to let go of his hand was hard, but Sarah did it. She stepped out of the car and briskly walked to the office, doing her best to focus on staying under the radar. But in the back of her mind, she wondered how Chuck was feeling.

XXX

Chuck knew that he should be getting their supplies together; it wouldn't take long for Sarah to book a room, even with the now-unusual practice of paying in cash. But as he looked out the window of the car, staring at the peeling paint and sagging roofline of the motel Sarah had picked, he couldn't ignore his sense of déjà vu.

Just like before, they were on the run. Just like before, he was thinking a lot about his father. Back then, he had been hoping to find Stephen Bartowski, to rescue him and get answers about the Intersect inside his head. And back then, in one corner of his mind, he was wondering why Sarah was taking such a big risk for him.

Swallowing, Chuck made himself relax. Yes, they were on the run again. But since the last time he was in Barstow, his life had gotten infinitely better. He didn't have the Intersect anymore, just like he had wanted then, although he had certainly made his peace with the supercomputer in his head before it had been removed. And he knew why Sarah had risked her career and her life for him.

He took a deep breath and turned to grab their duffel bag from the back seat. Things had worked out before for them; it would happen again. Soon General Beckman or Casey would contact them and have a plan ready to go, one that they could use to confront Robin Cummings. And after that, they could go home and be Chuck and Sarah again.

By the time he got out of the car, Sarah was walking down the unevenly-cracked cement walkway, holding a key. She held it up to him. "Room eight, on the end."

"Great," he said, giving her a small smile. He shifted the bag from one hand to the other so he could wrap his fingers around hers.

She returned his smile, her face lighting up a little. "Okay?"

He nodded. "Yeah, getting there." It was amazing how being with Sarah and having her smile at him could relieve a lot of his worries. He'd spent a lot of time lately being self-absorbed, but he couldn't keep doing that to her.

Sarah opened the door to their room and stepped inside, her eyes sweeping over the space. Chuck found himself doing the same while his earlier feeling of déjà vu feelings returned. Oh, this motel was a good bit nicer than the last place, but still … faded carpet, a small double bed, and a faint fragrance of mildew and mustiness made the memories feel very strong.

Chuck squeezed Sarah's hand, feeling the press of her wedding and engagement rings against his skin. "At least some things have changed." He looked at her, thinking about how lucky he was to have changed and grown in the two and a half years since they'd been in this situation. And by the soft smile on Sarah's face, by the light in her eyes, he knew she was feeling the same way.


	28. Regret

**Slices ****of ****Life**

**Author**: dettiot

**Rating**: T

**Summary**: A collection of ficlets, based off prompts received at my Tumblr.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Chuck_. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Author****'****s****Note**: Did you know that I started a new fic? Check out Ready at Your Hand!

XXX

**Regret**

Set between seasons 3 and 4.

Written for anonymous.

"Sarah is captured & tortured while trying to protect Ellie & Awesome. Identities are revealed."

XXX

The loud bang made by the front door of the apartment being thrown open was the first sign that something was wrong. The second one was the sound of Ellie's feet pounding against the floor as she ran down the hall towards his bedroom.

"Chuck!" Ellie was breathless, her eyes wide. "You need to come now."

Already on his feet, Chuck followed his sister. "What's going on? Is something wrong—"

The words died in his throat when he saw Sarah spread out on the couch and Devon leaning over her. His brother-in-law was ripping apart what remained of Sarah's top. It was the blue top with the little buttons. The one Chuck really liked.

Sarah's skin was gray. Except where it was red from her blood. There were tiny dots, large splotches, and faint smears all over her skin. And some of the splotches were getting bigger and spreading over her body.

His legs felt like they were ready to go out from under him, but before that happened he got to the couch and crouched by Sarah's face. "S-Sarah?" When he reached out to take her hand, he could see his fingers shake.

She stirred a little, her eyes barely opening, but she didn't say anything.

Ellie and Devon were moving around Sarah, using their near-hospital quality first-aid kit. He saw Ellie inject something into Sarah's arm while Devon wiped antiseptic over a large gash in Sarah's side. A gash that looked like something had been thrust into her.

"What—" His voice broke and Chuck cleared his throat. "What happened?"

His sister glanced at him. "I was having lunch with Devon, at that new Chinese place down the street, when suddenly these men showed up and just … they were talking crazy. Asking all these questions about something called the Intersect. They were taking us into this back room at the restaurant when Sarah showed up and—I had no idea she knew so much martial arts, Chuck. She saved us, but …" Ellie's voice trailed off, an obvious apology in her voice.

Devon paused as he stitched up Sarah, looking at Chuck. Devon knew the truth. He knew what the Intersect was. A silent conversation passed between them, but all his brother-in-law said was, "She's going to be fine, Chuck. I'll get these cuts sewn up and we'll go from there."

"There's so much blood." Chuck didn't know he could sound like that. So determined. So cold. Like he was ready to hunt down who had done this to Sarah and make them pay.

"It's mostly the head wound," Ellie said, lifting Sarah's hair and revealing a deep cut along her hairline. "She didn't want to go to the hospital, and since I'm the same blood type as Sarah, we can do a transfusion here."

Chuck swallowed. He knew how important a sterile environment was for healing; living with two doctors had taught him that. If Ellie and Devon were willing to risk contamination in order to comply with Sarah's wishes … they must be leaving a lot unsaid about what had happened.

As Ellie and Devon worked to fix Sarah's physical injuries, Chuck leaned in close to her ear. "It's going to be okay, baby," he whispered. "I love you, and you're going to take some sick leave and get all better, and then we'll figure out what happened."

He couldn't lose her. Not like this. Not now. They'd only been together for six months, and that wasn't nearly enough time to have with Sarah Walker. He knew he was overreacting; if Sarah's condition had been that bad, Ellie and Devon would have taken her straight to the hospital, no matter what Sarah had wanted. But seeing the woman he loved covered in blood after protecting his family …

Ellie had made him promise to quit being a spy. And he had done that. But now, he was regretting his decision. Because he hadn't known how much he wanted to be with Sarah on missions until right now. It wasn't that Casey wasn't capable of watching Sarah's back; he was. But Chuck wanted to be there for Sarah, wanted to be the one she could depend on. She had gone into a dangerous, unknown situation alone and without backup. It was probably because it was Ellie and Devon, and she knew that if Chuck had come with her, it would raise a lot of questions from Ellie.

But right now, Ellie's objections didn't matter. Maybe … maybe he should reconsider. If he told Ellie the truth—

A soft moan broke into his thoughts. "Sarah, baby, it's okay," he blurted out as Sarah shifted on the couch, her eyes fluttering a little.

"Chuck …" she mumbled softly. Then her eyes widened for a moment. "Ellie, Devon?"

"They're fine," he said, stroking her hair and trying to hold himself together for her. "You saved them. You're home. You're gonna be fine."

She looked up at him for a moment, then let out a soft sigh of relief as she said his name again. Her eyelids slipped shut and her body relaxed into unconsciousness.

There were so many things he should be doing. Calling Casey to tell him what happened, reporting to General Beckman about Sarah's actions even though the general wasn't his boss anymore. And he was certainly going to find out all he could about who had attacked his sister. But at this moment, Sarah was his only focus. She was all he could think about.

Everything else could wait.


	29. Secret

**Slices ****of ****Life**

**Author**: dettiot

**Rating**: T

**Summary**: A collection of ficlets, based off prompts received at my Tumblr.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Chuck_. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Author****'****s ****Note**: Did you know that I started a new fic? Check out Ready at Your Hand!

XXX

**Secret**

Set in the future.

Written for aerox2109.

"Chuck decides to play a little prank on Sarah post s5: He tells her that she loved video games and that her favourite was Battletoads. Up to you whether she totally owns it, or fails miserably (LIKE EVERY OTHER MORTAL ON THIS PLANET)."

XXX

It was Chuck and Morgan's monthly game night (formerly every other week, but being the manager of the Buy More/owner and operator of his own electronic espionage firm kept both of them busier than ever) and Sarah, as usual, had given them the run of the living room. But it was nearly ten-thirty and she was thirsty, so she crept down the hall towards the kitchen for something to drink.

The exasperation in Chuck's voice made her pause in the hallway, taking a few silent steps to stay out of eyeshot.

"No, Morgan. I'm not going to tell Sarah that!"

"C'mon, Chuck, it'd be awesome! Imagine her face when she tries to play Battletoads and wipes out."

Sarah peeked around the corner enough to see Chuck pacing in front of Morgan, who was sitting on the couch.

"First off, everyone wipes out at Battletoads, all the time. Do you remember how long it took us to not completely suck at that game? So it's not like Sarah has much of a chance. But putting that aside," Chuck said quickly, probably heading off Morgan's objection before it could be voiced, "I'm not going to make fun of my wife like that. Especially not when it means lying to her."

"When you put it like that …" Morgan said, his voice a bit grudging.

The sound of the couch squeaking slightly told Sarah that Chuck had sat down next to his friend. "Put yourself in my shoes. Would you really do something like that to Alex?"

"No," Morgan said sheepishly.

Silence fell between the two men, broken only by the beeps of whatever game they were now playing.

"I guess it must have been hard," Morgan said. "Havin' to tell Sarah the truth, when it'd be easier to tell a little white lie."

"No lying, no secrets. That's always been our rule," Chuck said.

When Chuck said those words, Sarah felt cold. She didn't really know why, until the memory fell into place: the two of them in Russia, Chuck confessing to looking for his mother and keeping that from her.

Slowly, Sarah slipped back into their bedroom, where she sat down on the bed and bit her lower lip. It had never crossed her mind that Chuck might not tell her the truth when she asked him questions about her memories, about their life together. The lack of doubt and suspicion, it wasn't like her. At least, not like the old Sarah Walker. But the woman she had become—Sarah Bartowski—trusted Chuck implicitly.

It was at moments like this that Sarah realized she had a lot more in common with that Sarah, the one who had left the CIA and got married and had a life, than she realized. And that made the secret she was keeping weigh heavily on her, feeling like a stone in her stomach.

Maybe … maybe it was time to tell Chuck the truth.

XXX

It was nearly midnight when Chuck came to bed. He stepped into the room and smiled at her, and Sarah, looking up from her magazine, gave him a small smile back.

"Hey. I hope we weren't too loud," Chuck said, leaning on the bed to kiss her cheek before he started changing for bed.

When he pulled his t-shirt over his head, his back to her, Sarah got distracted and the words died in her throat until she swallowed. "Um, no. No, I stayed awake because I have something … something I needed to tell you."

Chuck finished pulling on a clean t-shirt and turned to look at her. She didn't know whether to feel grateful or disappointed. "Is everything okay, Sarah?"

His voice was even and supportive and his face was open but neutral. He was doing everything he could to hold back his feelings, hold back the worry and doubt and fear that her words had sparked in him. But he never seemed to be able to control his eyes. Everything he felt always appeared in those brown orbs. So she knew what he was thinking.

In the four months since her memories had started coming back, they had gradually gotten closer and closer. Things were much less awkward between them, to the point that they were now sharing the bedroom. Falling asleep with Chuck had become an addiction for her: his warm feet covering her cold ones, moving closer to him in her sleep until she was using him as her pillow. Every morning, she woke up feeling like she was who she was supposed to be, where she was supposed to be.

But they hadn't slept together. And she hadn't revealed the secret that was now on the tip of her tongue.

"It—it's nothing bad," she said, feeling a bit shy. Chuck eased down on the bed, leaving space between them. His eyes were fixed on her, his whole attitude poised to give her whatever she needed.

"That's good," he said with a lopsided smile. "Because Morgan kinda kicked my ass tonight, so something not-bad would be nice."

"Morgan won? Really? Or are you just trying to get some sympathy, Mr. Bartowski?" It was so easy to talk to him. So easy to spend time with him. So easy to smile at him and feel like her heart was in her eyes.

"Oh, it really happened. Trust me, Morgan's not going to let me live this down anytime soon," Chuck said with a grin. "But enough about me. What's up?"

As she gazed at him for a moment, Sarah wished she had his gift with words. The ability to say something and have the words and the sentiment work together to make the listener feel special. Like he did for her. She would have to hope what she had to say was good enough.

Sarah licked her lips. "I—I overheard you talking to Morgan. About 'no secrets, no lies' being our rule."

Chuck reached out and took her hand. "Yeah … yeah, it was. And it's a good rule, but that doesn't mean we can't adjust it, you know, since times change and all—"

When she squeezed his hand, he stopped and gave her a lopsided grin before nodding at her, telling her that he was listening.

"I think it's a good rule," she said slowly. "It, it made me realize that there's something I've been holding back and I thought it was time to tell you."

"Sarah, you don't need—"

"I love you, Chuck."

It took Chuck a moment to realize what she had said when their words had overlapped. "W-what?" he asked, his eyes wide and startled.

Sarah rose up on her knees, moving closer to him. "I love you," she repeated softly. She reached out, wrapping her arms around his neck.

His hands, almost by default, moved to her hips. She felt a spark inside her as the words sunk in and his eyes softened. Then, the biggest, happiest, most joyful smile she had ever seen appeared on his face.

"I love you, too," he said softly, leaning in to kiss her.

They had kissed plenty of times since the one on the beach, after he had told her their story. But this one felt special. Different. Like they were starting over again.

And as Sarah pulled her husband down on the bed with her, she thought it was a night for starting over. For no more secrets and no more lies.

But tomorrow, she was going to make Chuck show her that game that he was talking about with Morgan. And perhaps they could pull a little trick on his best friend.


	30. Soul-Searching

**Slices ****of ****Life**

**Author**: dettiot

**Rating**: T

**Summary**: A collection of ficlets, based off prompts received at my Tumblr.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Chuck_. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Author****'****s ****Note**: Going to be working to clear out the backlog of ficlets that have only been published on my Tumblr. So there will be more frequent updates to this story here.

XXX

**Soul****-****Searching**

Set mid-season 4.

Written for anonymous.

"The proposal on the balcony without Sarah being arrested."

XXX

When General Beckman left her, handcuffed and shackled in one of Castle's cells, her parting words kept ringing in Sarah's ears.

"_For __this __assignment__, __you__'__ll __need __to __be __the __old __Sarah __Walker__."_

Something about that assessment, that prediction, made Sarah quail. Made her feel a different kind of butterflies than before. And if nothing else, that told Sarah how much she had changed. Because when she had told Morgan that she didn't get butterflies, that was true—but of the old Sarah. This new Sarah that she had become, she got butterflies. The thought that Chuck was going to propose to her, thanks to Morgan's help and her planning …

Sarah shook her head. She couldn't think about that. She should be doing what Beckman had recommended: become Sarah Walker, wildcard enforcer, drummed out of the CIA and left to sell her services to any interested party. Perhaps playing upon Volkoff's doomed romance with Chuck's mother and say she was doing all this for Chuck …

And the truth was, that was exactly what she was doing. She was doing this for Chuck. Because she loved him so much that she couldn't bear to see him unhappy, and his mother being trapped under Volkoff's control made Chuck unhappy.

Or perhaps this was just her way of escaping from those butterflies. From that strange attack of nerves that had gripped her as she climbed the stairs of the villa, heading towards the balcony where Chuck was waiting for her, waiting to ask her to become his wife.

Swallowing, Sarah looked down at her hands. Her left hand was resting over her right, the fingers slim and pale, her nails still perfectly manicured from their last mission. Appearances were deceiving, though. If someone looked closer, they could see the fingers that were slightly crooked from being broken, the calluses on her palm and trigger fingers.

If she had an engagement ring on her left hand, would that complete her transformation? Would she lose the Sarah Walker she used to be, the one that was hard and cold and unpredictable, but so very good at her job and so very certain that no one could ever hurt her? As compared to the Sarah Walker she had spent the last three years becoming, the one who had been hurt over and over, the one who found herself no longer certain about anything?

Sarah leaned forward and covered her face with her hands, letting her hair fall forward. That wasn't true. She was certain about some things. But it began and ended with Chuck. What his presence meant to her, how he had changed her life by showing her what friends and family were like, making her relate to people differently and judge situations through a different perspective.

Going undercover in Volkoff Industries wouldn't be possible for Chuck's Sarah. It'd be too hard to maintain her focus, keep the razor-sharp edge she would need. She had to think about the job and nothing else, if she was going to rescue Chuck's mom and take down Volkoff. But if she became the old Sarah for a little while, would Chuck understand?

The old Sarah Walker didn't get butterflies and she didn't daydream. But as she sat in that cell, Sarah couldn't help wondering what might have happened if Beckman hadn't accelerated the planning for this operation, hadn't wrecked a moment that could have been perfect.

As soon as Chuck had started speaking, his words melted her heart. Made her fall in love with him all over again, just like so many other moments they had spent together. If looking at her made Chuck feel like he'd never been to someplace so beautiful, looking at him made her feel like she couldn't ever stop loving him.

She wanted to be with him. At his side.

If Beckman hadn't sent a tactical team to arrest her, he would have asked the question. He would have said, "Will you marry me?" And through the pounding in her ears and the sudden dry mouth, she would have said yes.

_The __corner __of __Chuck__'__s __eyes __crinkled __as __he __beamed __at __her__. "__Yes__?" __he __repeated__, __still __kneeling __in __front __of __her__, __still __holding __out __a __ring __that __she __could __already __imagine __on __her __hand__. _

_She __nodded__. "__Yes__, __yes__." __Sarah __reached __out __and __put __her __hands __on __his __shoulders__, __tugging __him __up __and __into __her __arms__, __holding __him __so __tight __and __so __hard__. "__Yes__, __I __wanna __marry __you__, __Chuck__." _

_And __he __held __her __just __as __tight__. __For __a __moment__, __she __remembered __how __she __felt __in __Thailand__, __kneeling __in __front __of __him __and __trying __to __bring __him __back __to __her __and __the __seconds __she __spent __wondering __if __she __had __been __too __late__, __if __she __would __never __have __this __feeling__. __This __feeling __of __wholeness__, __of __finally __being __complete__. __After __all __the __hard __times__, __they __were __going __to __get __married __and __be __together __and __be __happy __forever__. _

_Sarah __pressed __her __lips __against __his __jaw__, __moving __over __his __skin __to __his __mouth__. __He __kissed __her __deeply__, __one __hand __coming __up __to __cup __her __cheek__, __holding __her __delicately__. __She __loved __how __he __touched __her __like __she __was __fragile __and __special __and __unique__. _

_Chuck __pulled __back__, __his __eyes __sparkling __and __his __smile __so __wide__. "__Let__—__let__'__s __see __how __the __ring __looks__," __he __said__, __sounding __giddy __and __a __little __bit __nervous__. _

"_Yes__," __Sarah __said__, __holding __her __left __hand __out __to __him __eagerly__. __Wanting __to __have __his __ring __on __her __finger__. _

_He __laughed __a __little__, __a __breathless __sort __of __laugh __as __he __took __the __ring __from __the __bright __red __box__, __then __he __slowly __slid __it __onto __her __finger__, __gazing __into __her __eyes__. __And __it __was __perfect__. __The __ring __fit __perfectly__, __and __it __looked __perfect __on __her __hand__, __and __she __felt __perfect__. __Beautiful__, __like __Chuck __thought __she __was__—__someone __who __would __make __him __happy__. _

_And __it __was __all __too __much __to __keep __inside __her__. __So __she __threw __her __arms __around __him __and __kissed __him __again__, __pulling __him __close __to __her __by __the __front __of __his __jacket__. _

_His __hands __fumbled __with __the __belt __of __her __trench__coat__, __undoing __it __and __then __sliding __his __arms __underneath __the __coat__, __around __her __waist__, __pressing __against __her __and __setting __her __body __on __fire__. __She __needed __him__. _

_Somehow__, __they __ended __up __in __a __bedroom__. __It __was __some __combination __of __that __Paris __hotel __room __from __after __Shaw__, __the __train __compartment__, __and __their __bedroom __in __Burbank__. __She __didn__'__t __care __about __the __room__: __just __Chuck __and __the __big__, __soft __bed __they __found__. _

_It __was __all __kisses __and __soft __touches__, __large __smiles __and __bright __eyes__. __It __was __happiness __that __was __too __big __to __stay __inside __them__. __Happiness __that __increased __the __more __they __touched__. __They __made __love __and __it __was __special__, __not __just __because __it __was __them __and __they __were __together __and __it __was __always __special__, __but __because __it __was __their __first __time __after __agreeing __to __spend __the __rest __of __their __lives __together__. _

_And __the __glitter __of __the __diamond __on __her __finger __was __like __the __sparkle __in __Chuck__'__s __eyes __every __time __he __smiled __at __her__, __and __she __would __never __forget __this __moment__—_

Sarah sat up, pushing her hair back. She couldn't keep going. Not when her finger was bare, not when she was facing a separation from Chuck, not when she had to be the old Sarah to get the job done.

Not when the job got in the way of her life. Again.

One other thing that the old Sarah Walker didn't do was cry when saying goodbye to someone. And although she felt tears threatening, she pushed them back when she saw Chuck through the glass door. His face was full of confusion and sadness and determination, so ready to do everything he could to protect her. To save her.

But it was her turn to save him.


	31. Intimacy

**Slices ****of ****Life**

**Author**: dettiot

**Rating**: T

**Summary**: A collection of ficlets, based off prompts received at my Tumblr.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Chuck_. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Author****'****s ****Note**: Going to be working to clear out the backlog of ficlets that have only been published on my Tumblr. So there will be more frequent updates to this story here.

XXX

**Intimacy**

Set early season 5.

Written for anonymous.

"Chuck and Sarah, married, waking up together, tangled in the sheets and each other. Every day the same, because they are Chuck and Sarah."

XXX

"Mmmm …" Chuck let out a soft sigh as he woke up. There was a weight on his chest and a cool breeze fanning over his hip. His nostrils were filled with the wonderful, amazing scent that said "Sarah" to him. Blinking his eyes open, he smiled as he saw his wife's tousled blonde hair directly under his nose.

When they had gotten past the honeymoon stage, when Sarah had officially moved in with him, they had talked about their needs. About sharing toothbrushes and how they liked to fall asleep. Sarah had been very emphatic about needing thirty minutes of silence before bed. That she wanted to lay on her back, in complete quiet, in order to fall asleep.

It hadn't taken long after she had moved in for Chuck to realize that Sarah hadn't been honest with herself. Because soon, he was waking up every day with Sarah curled in against his side. And now that they were married, she didn't even bother using the pillow on her side of the bed. As soon as they climbed into bed, she pressed herself against his side, her head on his shoulder and her feet underneath his.

Nothing felt better than this.

Chuck ran a hand down Sarah's back, feeling the same thrill he always had at the touch of her soft, silky skin. She was beautiful and strong and amazing, and she was his.

Sarah made a soft sound, rubbing her face against his chest. Her hand slid across his body and rubbed against his side.

"Mornin', baby," he said softly.

If Sarah had changed, giving up her need for silence, so had he. Before they got together, he had never liked to sleep naked. Partly it was a reaction to Morgan's affinity for the practice; you see your best friend in the all-together one too many times and you develop a new respect for modesty. And he'd always been afraid of a fire breaking out and not having time to put on his clothes. But something about waking up with Sarah, the sheets lightly resting over them, their bare skin pressing against each other … it made him feel sexy and attractive in a way nothing else did.

It made him feel like a man. Not that he hadn't ever not felt like a man, but—but it was really, really good to wake up with his naked wife and be naked, too, and not feel embarrassed or shy or uneasy. To feel confident, knowing that Sarah looked at him and liked what she saw. That all the workouts and missions had turned him into something new, something he'd never expected to become, but something he liked. Not just because of Sarah, but because of how he felt.

She pressed a butterfly-soft kiss against his skin, then looked up at him with sleepy blue eyes. "Hi," she whispered. "What time is it?"

"'Bout six," he answered, running his fingers through her hair.

"That's early," she said, shifting even closer to him. "You okay?" She reached up and lightly pressed her finger to his forehead, making him aware of the wrinkle that had formed between his eyes, the one he got when he was thinking.

Like always, he melted under her touch. He rolled onto his side, the sheets covering him as he moved further underneath them. "Yeah, I'm good." He gave her a small smile. "Better than good."

She gazed up at him, her hand caressing his skin as she moved it to the back of his neck. "Mmm, yes," she said, a teasing grin lighting up her face.

He grinned back. "You agree, Mrs. Bartowski?"

"Completely, Mr. Bartowski," she said, tugging his head down for a slow, soft kiss.

And as he kissed her back, Chuck thought that as long as he had this for the rest of his life, everything would be all right.


	32. Bed

**Slices ****of ****Life**

**Author**: dettiot

**Rating**: T

**Summary**: A collection of ficlets, based off prompts received at my Tumblr.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Chuck_. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Author****'****s ****Note**: Going to be working to clear out the backlog of ficlets that have only been published on my Tumblr. So there will be more frequent updates to this story here.

XXX

**Bed**

Set mid-season 4.

Written for anonymous.

"I had a dream, a dream of a fic. A fic about the morning after Chuck and Sarah got engaged."

XXX

Last night had been the first night in weeks that Sarah had spent in her own bed. And it was very strange to her, realizing that she now had a bed she considered hers. Not the bed she just happened to sleep in, not the bed in the latest random hotel room or short-term apartment. This bed was hers. It had a side that was hers, the sheets were ones she had bought.

And best of all, the man lying on the other side of the bed was hers, too.

Sarah breathed slowly, lying on her side and watching Chuck sleep. He was on his back, one arm wrapped around her still, even after hours of sleep. He looked peaceful and happy and relaxed. She never got tired of seeing him like this, after all the years when being a spy and falling for his cover girlfriend made him look sad or heartbroken or freaked out.

When he had taken on the Intersect 2.0, using it to become the spy he wanted to be, she had been so upset with him. She hadn't understood why he had done it, not when he could have her. Not when he left her without any explanation at the Prague train station. It had taken a long time for her to understand. It was more than his confession of becoming a spy for the people he loved, or seeing his first steps towards becoming an agent. It was seeing him now, seeing his confidence and faith in himself, that made Sarah realize he had been right.

Of course she wished there had been more time for him to explain, opportunities for them to not hurt each other like they had. But somehow, they had gotten here. With her in this bed and him asleep next to her. Sharing an apartment—and soon, much much more.

The sparkle of the diamond on her finger was so distracting. Looking down at her hand, she played with it a little, marveling at how right it looked on her hand. It wasn't the first time she had worn an engagement ring, of course. It wasn't even the first time she had worn one which she had been "given" by Chuck. But it was the first time that it was real. Really, truly, one hundred percent real.

Nothing felt as good as knowing in her bones that this was what she wanted. That her experiences undercover in Volkoff Industries hadn't made her slip back into her old ways. She wanted a life with Chuck, wanted to marry him and make him happy.

Nothing was going to stop her from doing that.

Sarah twisted her ring around her finger, then looked back at Chuck. Last night, they had stayed at the hospital until visiting hours ended, then Morgan insisted on taking them out to dinner to celebrate the engagement. With Alex and Casey joining them, it had turned into a fun, loud dinner, full of jokes and laughter. Both she and Chuck had a few drinks, making them too tired for anything when they had collapsed into bed at the end of the evening.

And she was ready to see what it was like to make love as an engaged woman. So she leaned in and kissed Chuck softly and slowly, coaxing him awake.

XXX

As he slowly woke up, Chuck felt breathless. That happened when you were being kissed awake, and your eyes opened to reveal the most beautiful woman in the world doing said kissing.

Once he had confirmed that it was, in fact, Sarah kissing him, Chuck closed his eyes and deepened the kiss, letting his arms wrap around her. "Mmm," he sighed against her lips.

Few things felt as good as being kissed by Sarah. But being kissed by his fiancée was definitely better, he thought.

"Good morning, Chuck," she said softly, brushing her nose against his. "How'd you sleep?"

"So good," he said, gazing at her as he rubbed her back. "I missed you too much to sleep that well while you gone. And there was a lot of worrying, too."

A bright smile flashed across her face, even though her eyes were a little sad. "Me, too. On both counts."

"But, hey, you're back now!" he said quickly, pushing himself up on one elbow. "Back for good, and as the future Mrs. Bartowski."

Just saying the words made him smile—probably a huge, goofy smile. But he still felt like he had to pinch himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming. If the Chuck of four years ago had known where he would be now, that Chuck would have started debating what was the more likely reason: Bizarro Universe or Holodeck. But it wasn't a hallucination or an alternate universe; Sarah was his.

Sarah reached out and gently stroked his hair. "I'm so glad to be home."

They both leaned in at the same time, their lips meeting in a soft, deep kiss. Chuck closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her on top of him. Savoring the feel of her warmth, how perfectly she fit him.

With a quiet giggle, Sarah broke their kiss. "You read my mind," she said, pushing herself up to straddle him.

"Did I?" he asked, grinning at her as he rubbed her hips.

She nodded. "I was just thinking about how great last night was, but … we kind of fell into bed and went to sleep. Like an old married couple." Her cheeks flushed.

Chuck tilted his head, trying to follow her. "And that's a bad thing?"

"When we are two young, newly-engaged people? A little, I think." Sarah leaned down, her blonde hair falling around his face. "And when we've been apart for weeks … and since we couldn't find a supply closet after you proposed to me …"

Not only were his ears on fire, there was a lump the size of Cleveland in his throat. Was it normal that she could do that to him still? And was it crazy that he hoped she would keep doing that to him for the rest of his life?

Somehow, he managed to speak. "I—I see." He looked up at her, taking in her sparkling eyes and mussed hair and smooth skin, and he didn't want to waste time with witty words or making her laugh.

So he reached up and pulled her down, kissing her with all he had. Pouring himself into the kiss, showing her how much he loved her. She kissed him back, her hands everywhere, running over his body and tugging at his clothes.

And being with Sarah, like always, was perfect. This was the best way to start the rest of his life: making love to the woman he loved with all his heart.


	33. Adventures

**Slices ****of ****Life**

**Author**: dettiot

**Rating**: T

**Summary**: A collection of ficlets, based off prompts received at my Tumblr.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Chuck_. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Author****'****s ****Note**: Going to be working to clear out the backlog of ficlets that have only been published on my Tumblr. So there will be more frequent updates to this story here.

XXX

Adventures

Set late season 4.

Written for anonymous.

"From Chuck vs the wedding planner: In the end, Sarah goes in to the bedroom and finds the letter from her dad. What happens when Chuck enters the room?"

XXX

When he realized that Sarah had been in their bedroom for a lot longer than it should take to get a blanket, Chuck considered leaving her alone. Perhaps she just needed a few minutes, time to deal with her dad leaving yet again. She always put up a brave face when talking about Jack Burton, but he knew it bothered her. In spite of what Sarah had said, he didn't think knowing all the cons kept her from being a sucker. Didn't keep her from wishing that things could be different. Chuck knew that because he wished the same things.

And Sarah had been for him during those times. So he got up and headed down the hall.

"Sarah, baby?" he asked, stopping by the door and giving her a bit of warning (a prudent idea when you were engaged to a spy with ninja-like reflexes).

As he stepped into the room, she turned her head and looked up at him from their bed, lying on his side of the mattress with a rotund pink piggy bank resting on her chest. He couldn't help smiling at the image, wondering if little Sarah had done the same thing.

"That's a cute piggy—hey-o!" he said, his eyes widening as he took in the rolls of hundred dollar bills piled up beside her. "What—where—?"

Sarah pushed aside the money and sat up, crossing her legs and resting the piggy bank in her lap. "Sit down, Chuck."

He somehow made his legs work enough to do as she said, his eyes unable to leave the money. "That—that is a lot of money."

"I know," she said, nodding. "It … it should be plenty for our wedding."

"For several weddings," he said, looking at her. "Or one if the bride is a Kardashian. But, Sarah—"

"My dad gave me back my piggy bank," she said softly.

Oh. Ohhhhh. Now things made sense. Chuck scooted a bit closer to her.

"I had started saving my money so I could go on adventures with him," Sarah said, not meeting his eyes, her gaze locked on the bank. "After I told him that, he dropped me off at my grandmother's and left. With my piggy bank."

Chuck reached out and stroked her hair softly. "And now you've got it back," he said.

Sarah nodded, then looked at him, her eyes soft. "Here, read this," she said, holding a note out to him.

He hesitated, but he took the piece of paper and read it slowly.

XXX

She knew when he reached the line that made her heart skip a beat and soar at the same time.

… _all __the __adventures __you __ever __wanted __with __a __man __far __better __than __me__._

Because it was true and it wasn't. Seven-year-old Sam had wanted those adventures with her dad. She wanted to listen to ball games on the radio while he drove their car until they arrived in a new place at the end of the day. Back then, the cons they pulled seemed like make-believe, a chance to pretend and be someone else for a little while before they got ice cream.

But now … the adventures she had experienced her whole life weren't exciting anymore. Not like they had been to a seven-year-old, or even a twenty-seven year-old. Pretending to be someone else and traveling all over the world—the appeal had faded.

She wasn't Sam anymore. She was Sarah. And Sarah wanted to get married and spend her life with the man beside her. To find the adventures in everyday life, the ones that Chuck had introduced her to. Like having a family, like having someone to depend upon, like knowing you could talk about your day with someone and feel better afterwards. All the things little girls were supposed to dream of.

It took Chuck a few moments to speak. "I—I guess he likes me a little bit, huh?"

Sarah smiled at him. "I think it's safe to say that 'schnook' has become a term of affection, yeah." She reached out and stroked his hair.

"And it's really nice of him to give this to you."

"To us," Sarah corrected, setting aside the piggy bank and crawling into his lap. Like always, his arms wrapped around her.

"To us," he repeated, gazing at her.

Sarah nodded. She wished she could find the words to explain everything in her head. To tell him about Sam, who put quarters inside a ceramic pig for adventures with her father. About how she was now saving for very different adventures. That her hopes and dreams were being deposited inside Chuck, to be kept safe until they could be realized.

To have all the adventures she wanted with a man better than her father.

But there just weren't words to explain everything that was swirling around inside her, so Sarah leaned in and kissed him slowly, letting her mind imagine a fairy-tale wedding and a happily-ever-after, full of the adventures that Sam had never even dreamed of.


End file.
